Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst confirmed that he is working with offensive tackle David Bakhtiari on restructuring his contract, according to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Packers beat reporter Tom Silverstein. He expects the deal to be done soon and Bakhtiari to be back on the team this year.
The team is also “working on something” with nose tackle Kenny Clark, continued Silverstein.
Brian Gutekunst had a four-word response when asked if Bakhtiari will be the Packers' left tackle in 2023
“I would hope so,” Gutekunst said.
A 10-year member of Green Bay, David Bakhtiari played in 11 games for the Packers last season after playing in just one in 2021. The 31-year-old tackle played in every one of the team's offensive snaps on five different occasions and in 90% or more in seven different games, peaking at 70 snaps played in a 27-24 win over the New England Patriots in Week 4, according to Pro Football Reference.
“I think we're hopeful that he's kind of cleared some of those injury hurdles that he had the last few years,” Gutekunst said. “He got into a really good rhythm of learning what he needed to practice to get to the games, and I'm hopeful as we get beyond this season that rhythm will serve him well as we go forward.”
Clark, who was selected with the 27th pick in the 2016 NFL draft, started in every one of the 17 games he played this season. The two-time Pro Bowler earned 53 total tackles, 27 solo tackles, 10 quarterback hits, five tackles for loss and one forced fumble last season.
Kenny Clark still felt he fell short of his expectations for the season.
“I was up and down,” Clark told Mike Spofford of Packers.com. “I wasn't too happy about how I performed in the run game for the most part all year.
“Pass rush, I think I started off fast, ended up doing a pretty good job.”
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