Long-term left tackle contracts come with mixed results in recent years

David Bakhtiari, Green Bay Packers

While Ronnie Stanley remains the most unlucky player on this list, David Bakhtiari is another cautionary tale from the Green Bay Packers without resolution at the present time.

During the 2020 season (we get the feeling this was an ill-fated year to hand out contracts), the Packers rightfully handed over a big-money contract extension to their franchise left tackle in order to lock him well into his thirties. The reason was that Bakhtiari had earned the money and the Packers’ good trust with exemplary play blocking for Aaron Rodgers in one of the game’s most effective offenses.

From 2016-2020, Bakhtiari was named either first-team or second-team All-Pro and cemented himself as one of the top 2-3 tackles in the entire game. After signing a four-year deal in mid-November worth upwards of $92 million, Bakhtiari would end up tearing his ACL only six weeks later in late December—a move that would force him to miss the postseason.

Bakhtiari would have a hard time getting healthy and active for the entire 2021 season and he managed to reinjure his knee in Week 18. He’s sat out every minicamp and training session this offseason for the Packers, although Matt LaFleur recently stated that he expects him to be ready to go for training camp. Bakhtiari has now missed two playoff runs and a full season with perhaps more on the way in 2022. Given his age, it seems a safer bet for him to fail to return to form than anything else, but Green Bay is hoping things don’t stay complicated for yet another year.