Matt LaFleur provides updates on David Bakhtiari and other Packers
By Paul Bretl
After a few days off, the Green Bay Packers were back on the practice field on Monday, and Matt LaFleur provided some updates.
Key updates on David Bakhtiari and other members of the Green Bay Packers
The first and most notable update was that David Bakhtiari was hopefully going to be participating in team drills for the first time this summer. Bakhtiari was removed from the PUP list a few weeks ago and has been participating in individual drills since then.
As Zach Kruse of Packers Wire would point out, the odds of Bakhtiari being ready for Week 1 in Minnesota likely remain low. Outside of 27 snaps against Detroit in Week 18 last season, he essentially missed an entire season.
Although Bakhtiari is a veteran and may not need as much time to get ready for action, asking him to get prepared for a game in less than a week after roughly 18 months away is still a tall task.
When it comes to Elgton Jenkins, LaFleur wouldn’t provide specifics, but it didn’t sound like he was going to participate in team drills. Jenkins has only participated in individual drills since coming off the PUP list.
We will see how the week unfolds, but as of now, it seems like the Packers should be prepared not to have either Bakhtiari or Jenkins available in Minnesota.
If that is the case, then the potential starting offensive line will consist of Yosh Nijman, Jon Runyan, Josh Myers, Jake Hanson, and Royce Newman, which has been their go-to option all summer. Another option would be moving Newman to right guard and starting Zach Tom at right tackle–this combination seemed to be the most effective this preseason.
As I discussed in a recent article, the offensive line play this season is going to be the catalyst behind any consistent success the offense has. The play of this unit will have to be improved from last season.
The other updates from LaFleur came at the wide receiver position. Allen Lazard did not practice last week for an unknown reason, and LaFleur told reporters today that he is improving and “we’ll see how the week progresses.”
For an offense with major questions at the receiver position, not having Lazard would obviously be a big blow for this unit. He is expected to be the Packers’ No. 1 receiver, at least to start the season, and we know he has the trust of Aaron Rodgers, often coming up big on third downs and in the red zone over his career.
Matt Schneidman of The Athletic would tweet out once practice began that Lazard wasn’t participating, but he was moving well with his running exercises.
When it comes to Christian Watson, LaFleur said that “the hope” is that he can be ready for Sunday’s game. With Watson, however, this doesn’t seem to be injury related as he is off PUP and has been active in team drills.
Rather, it has to do with him getting up to speed and comfortable with everything as he is a rookie and did miss a large chunk of training camp on the aforementioned PUP list.
Early on this season, Watson can provide this Packers offense with a downfield threat, and someone who can be utilized on gadget plays with his speed. Hopefully, his role will then continue to expand.
Rob Demovsky of ESPN also spotted Mason Crosby kicking at practice, a good sign for his availability on Sunday. Crosby spent all of training camp on the PUP list and came off prior to this past Tuesday’s deadline.