David Bakhtiari

[OldSchool101]

As bad as that was, it pales in comparison of bypassing the chance at the end of the first round to pick TJ Watt and ending up in that draft with Kevin King. Watt fell to the Packers and the gift was kicked to the curb. Do you really think the Packers lose the NFCCG to the Bucs if we have Watt terrorizing Brady? While the Justin Harrell pick was a fiasco, it didn't cost the team a Super Bowl trophy. I would argue bypassing TJ Watt did just that. In fact, with Watt, the chances of back-to-back Super Bowls in 2020 and 2021 are a very real possibility. I know it's history, but those chances don't come around that often. Kevin King is out of the league while Watt continues to be a HOF caliber player. Wow, I sure hope Love's career isn't squandered with such boneheaded moves, although I don't think TT should be blamed for it. At the time it appeared he was suffering from the illness that cost him his life. Murphy needed to step in but didn't. It's easy for me to castigate MM on my couch, but TT was by many accounts very well liked and respected so ousting him over an illness was an extremely gut wrenching decision to contemplate.

Probably the one draft we can all agree we blundered. The good news is Gutey has shown to be proficient in talent acquisition. The Jordan Love selection we were all so tied up in knots about was a great pick all along. Gutey started strong and backed strong up with arguably our best complete draft in recent memory.

We’re still not done with Bak. Fingers crossed that he pulls out of his injury tail spin. We sure could use a sprinkle of good fortune concerning him next season. Personally I’d deal David in the bargain bin for anything we can get. Get us a top 200 area selection? I’d gift wrap him. Even with all the ? He still Might still be worth a 7th flier to a team for first choice on a riskier former All-Pro.

Although the other thought is for that cheap might be worth a restructure with lower risk terms.

 

[AKCheese]

Torn bicep tendon

The back injury was blamed on a strength and conditioning coach, who got fired the off season following Harrell’s back injury.

Regardless - we burned a 1st round pick on a guy who missed his senior entire senior year due to injury (injured in his first game) couldnt participate in the combine. He played in 14 games over 4 years for $15 Million dollars. And people gave Gute crap for taking Love(?). My point is NFL execs have been known to do incredibly stupid things LOL, but I don’t think anyone will give us anything meaningful for DB before we have to decide whether to pay him his $9 Mil roster bonus. That’s like 3 weeks from now?

 

[AKCheese]

As bad as that was, it pales in comparison of bypassing the chance at the end of the first round to pick TJ Watt and ending up in that draft with Kevin King. Watt fell to the Packers and the gift was kicked to the curb. Do you really think the Packers lose the NFCCG to the Bucs if we have Watt terrorizing Brady? While the Justin Harrell pick was a fiasco, it didn't cost the team a Super Bowl trophy. I would argue bypassing TJ Watt did just that. In fact, with Watt, the chances of back-to-back Super Bowls in 2020 and 2021 are a very real possibility. I know it's history, but those chances don't come around that often. Kevin King is out of the league while Watt continues to be a HOF caliber player. Wow, I sure hope Love's career isn't squandered with such boneheaded moves, although I don't think TT should be blamed for it. At the time it appeared he was suffering from the illness that cost him his life. Murphy needed to step in but didn't. It's easy for me to castigate MM on my couch, but TT was by many accounts very well liked and respected so ousting him over an illness was an extremely gut wrenching decision to contemplate.

TT was a gutless coward. His handling of the Favre debacle was a stain on the organization. Move on from the guy if that’s your football judgement. But lying and coniving, then basically GIVING him away because you’re afraid to face him (with good reason as it turns out) spoke loads about his lack of character.

 

[OldSchool101]

Regardless - we burned a 1st round pick on a guy who missed his senior entire senior year due to injury (injured in his first game) couldnt participate in the combine. He played in 14 games over 4 years for $15 Million dollars. And people gave Gute crap for taking Love(?). My point is NFL execs have been known to do incredibly stupid things LOL, but I don’t think anyone will give us anything meaningful for DB before we have to decide whether to pay him his $9 Mil roster bonus. That’s like 3 weeks from now?

Maybe not.

Also, From Baks corner, they can’t exactly be too picky. DB has barely played over the last 3 years, nobody is going to give him any contract offer that’s even mildly impressive. He’s at best on a 1yr prove it deal no matter where he plays. That’s IF he plays.

 

[AKCheese]

If he’s been REMOTELY smart money will not be an issue. Even if he gets zero of the $19M from Green Bay this year. If Green Bay cuts him loose healthy he can go anywhere he wants. Do you pay the roster bonus ($9M) hoping someone MIGHT give us a 7th rounder IF we eat a substantial portion of his $10M salary? Or do we save $9M for sure ….. MAYbe a decent portion of his $10M salary (call it $5M). We save $14M of real money and cap room and yes then somebody else can have a 33 yo LT who essentially hasnt played in 3 years and has had 4(?) knee surgeries all for the same injury. Best case for both he AND the Packers is he’s healthy this summer passes a physical and we save the whole $19M. Nothing against DB but if he were not a Packer and he was “out there available” would anyone here REMOTELY entertain signing him for $19M for one year? We pick up his roster bonus option we’re basically hiring him to play for us next year for $19M (or pay him that to NOT play if he remains unable to do so.

 

[AKCheese]

I’d say it’s been long enough cheese lol don’t live in the past that far.

How far is far enough? LOL Seriously if he hadnt gotten a name like Hot Tub I’d probably have forgotten him by now. And nothing against HTH it’s not his fault or any players fault that they get injured on the job. TT was the moron who drafted him.

 

[Sanguine camper]

TT was a gutless coward. His handling of the Favre debacle was a stain on the organization. Move on from the guy if that’s your football judgement. But lying and coniving, then basically GIVING him away because you’re afraid to face him (with good reason as it turns out) spoke loads about his lack of character.

I really don't think it was that simple. While I was never a big TT booster, in 2007, TT had too much patience with Favre's antics because noone knew what they had with AR at the point. AR was riding the bench and wasn't an automatic heir apparent. I agree Favre's antics were too much but I wouldn't say it was a stain on the organization. It's just the typical business side of football magnified by a HOF qb who often behaved poorly.

 

[longtimefan]

TT was a gutless coward. His handling of the Favre debacle was a stain on the organization. Move on from the guy if that’s your football judgement. But lying and coniving, then basically GIVING him away because you’re afraid to face him (with good reason as it turns out) spoke loads about his lack of character.

All had to do with Brett talking to Viks. It was tampering

 

[tynimiller]

If he’s been REMOTELY smart money will not be an issue. Even if he gets zero of the $19M from Green Bay this year. If Green Bay cuts him loose healthy he can go anywhere he wants. Do you pay the roster bonus ($9M) hoping someone MIGHT give us a 7th rounder IF we eat a substantial portion of his $10M salary? Or do we save $9M for sure ….. MAYbe a decent portion of his $10M salary (call it $5M). We save $14M of real money and cap room and yes then somebody else can have a 33 yo LT who essentially hasnt played in 3 years and has had 4(?) knee surgeries all for the same injury. Best case for both he AND the Packers is he’s healthy this summer passes a physical and we save the whole $19M. Nothing against DB but if he were not a Packer and he was “out there available” would anyone here REMOTELY entertain signing him for $19M for one year? We pick up his roster bonus option we’re basically hiring him to play for us next year for $19M (or pay him that to NOT play if he remains unable to do so.

Honestly, he was our best lineman on half a leg the last two years when he played. It isn’t whether I want him here if healthy, it’s at what cost is the risk worth it.

Is that restructuring/extension that saves us maybe 15 instead of 20 this year….maybe we save 20 this year but have some cost if added a year next….

Each person has a different answer to that…

 

[Pkrjones]

GB doesn't have "spare" cap room to gamble with, and $20.9mil (or less IF Bakhtiari is owed anything being still injured) is still A LOT of cap room to save. Gute is already figuring out ways to reduce pay to guys who have played many snaps & well over the last 3 yrs (Jones, Campbell), and due a hefty extension is Love.

 

[tynimiller]

Not saying they do. However, some make it sound like Bakh could offer to shred his contract and cap hit us this year barely over the dead and you’d still cut him. That would be ignorant.

Playing out his contract as is would also be though for sure.

 

[AKCheese]

Honestly, he was our best lineman on half a leg the last two years when he played. It isn’t whether I want him here if healthy, it’s at what cost is the risk worth it.

Is that restructuring/extension that saves us maybe 15 instead of 20 this year….maybe we save 20 this year but have some cost if added a year next….

Each person has a different answer to that…

Considering he played one game in 2021 and one game in 2023 I would say there’s not much to base declaring him our “best OL.” Again kind of like burning a first round pick (#16) on a guy who missed virtually his entire senior year. As DB’s body of work gets further and further in the rear view mirror betting 10’s of millions on the hope that he can come back from 4 knee surgeries and sitting out 2 of the last 3 years with a half season in between - is just a bad bet. Even if he took vet minimum in an additional year you’d be laying out $10+ million a year with a $9 million dollar ante. I’d say deny the roster bonus (save $9M immediately), then let the injury settlement/new contract play itself out. If he goes and signs elsewhere - thanks for your time as a Packer (we save another $10M). If he’s still got injury issues - we get stuck paying whatever portion of 2024 he’s incapable of playing - but the $9M is in our pocket. BTW DB can’t take (for example) an 8 game injury settlement and then go play somewhere else for those 8 games. He has to sit them out. I have no way of knowing but assuming DB wants to play football again it behooves him to address the injury/settlement in good faith to get back on a team/field as soon as he’s physically capable of doing so

 

[AKCheese]

Except the league looked into it - and said it wasn’t. Another TT smokescreen, followed by the attempted bribe to get him to never play football again, followed by essentially “giving him away” to try to insure the Packers would never have to face him again. It was a disgraceful chapter in the franchises history.

 

[gopkrs]

Like Rodgers, I was ready to move on from Brett although for different reasons. I was just tired of the untimely interceptions. And he was so obviously affected by the cold in that Giant's game.

 

[thequick12]

I see only the roster bonus as a cap savings as the injury settlement will take a good chunk of this years salary. Still $9.5m is better than nothing. From my office chair with no real data, I personally would gamble on his return for a season or two and give him a short 2-3yr, no guarantees beyond a signing bonus, heavily incentivized for playing time extension.

Why are we assuming he can't pass a physical? He clearly passed one last year. Im gonna hope he passes and they get the full 21 million or whatever it is.

Im not against having him on the team but I dont think he would agree to the type of extension you suggest

 

[longtimefan]

Except the league looked into it - and said it wasn’t. Another TT smokescreen, followed by the attempted bribe to get him to never play football again, followed by essentially “giving him away” to try to insure the Packers would never have to face him again. It was a disgraceful chapter in the franchises history.

He used his own cell phone to talk to viks

I had inside info during the whole thing as I worked for his team running his web site and had others inside GB that worked with Ted

Brett had an interview with Al Jones where he admitted it was a marketing deal presented by Andrew Brandt before the Giants nfccg . That was in black and white in the paper and on line .. This is not at all debated. It was a fact .

Then his team of people told him to interview with Bonnie Bernstein? in GB and he told her it was a bribe

I don’t care what you think you know . That is exactly what happened

I’ll find my post on it and tag you

 

[AKCheese]

The league looked into it. They said there was no tampering. I don’t care who you were horse holding for or whose cousins neighbors sisters best friend you knew back in the day. They offered him money to not play. The NFL looked into Green Bays tampering charge. Verdict - no tampering. (How do you tamper with a guy under contract?) More TT smoke screen.

 

[mradtke66]

Regardless - we burned a 1st round pick on a guy who missed his senior entire senior year due to injury (injured in his first game) couldnt participate in the combine. He played in 14 games over 4 years for $15 Million dollars. And people gave Gute crap for taking Love(?).

That's revisionist. He couldn't use one arm. That healed and as far as I know, he never had an arm injury again. The contract was more or a requirement as it predated the modern rookie wage scale. He missed time with the back injury, which again, is purported to be the fault of the S&C staff. And finally, he popped an ACL, after finally being healthy.

In hindsight, yeah, a missed pick, but nothing was egregiously wrong with it. Reggie was able to finish a season after tearing his bicep tendon. It isn't unreasonable to expect a 20-something kid to recover from that injury.

 

[longtimefan]

The league looked into it. They said there was no tampering. I don’t care who you were horse holding for or whose cousins neighbors sisters best friend you knew back in the day. They offered him money to not play. The NFL looked into Green Bays tampering charge. Verdict - no tampering. (How do you tamper with a guy under contract?) More TT smoke screen.

No tampering because Brett didn’t use the NFL supplied cell phone. That’s what they checked

he used burners

but again you have mind made up. Believe what you wish

 

[AKCheese]

No tampering because Brett didn’t use the NFL supplied cell phone. That’s what they checked

he used burners

but again you have mind made up. Believe what you wish

And pray tell how do you have evidence that he used “burners” that the NFL super slueths couldnt track down? And what the content and context of those conversations was? Oh yeah, I forgot - you worked on a website LOL

 

[AKCheese]

That's revisionist. He couldn't use one arm. That healed and as far as I know, he never had an arm injury again. The contract was more or a requirement as it predated the modern rookie wage scale. He missed time with the back injury, which again, is purported to be the fault of the S&C staff. And finally, he popped an ACL, after finally being healthy.

In hindsight, yeah, a missed pick, but nothing was egregiously wrong with it. Reggie was able to finish a season after tearing his bicep tendon. It isn't unreasonable to expect a 20-something kid to recover from that injury.

He - did - not - play - his - senior - year - of - college - ball. And it’s not like he was some off the charts talent going into his senior year. He was second team all conference his junior year. Second team all conference, sit a year - BOOM #16 pick in the draft. How did THAT not work out?? LOL There are probably 80 (or more) people every August who could be 1st round picks the following May. Scores of them play their way out of the first round, get injured, crap the bed at the combine etc. We took a guy at 16 who sat out his senior year AND the combine. It’s like TT owed somebody a favor LOL. And it’s not revisionist - it was a stunningly stupid pick the minute it was made. “OK big guy, you’ve got potential … now go out there and prove it your senior year - oh wait - you had to sit out? Ummmm well… ok we’ll check you out at the combine. Wait… what??? Can’t make the combine? Ummmm ok well no problem it’s not like we’re making you a top 10 pick and you were getting some accolades going into your senior year so yeah sure let’s burn the #16 pick. To be fair he did start 2 games and made *checks notes* 17 tackles and *checks notes again* zero sacks. On a positive note? We only paid him $14M so that was less than a million dollars a tackle ROTFL

 

[longtimefan]

And pray tell how do you have evidence that he used “burners” that the NFL super slueths couldnt track down? And what the content and context of those conversations was? Oh yeah, I forgot - you worked on a website LOL

You forgot the part where I said I had family inside 1265 . I heard both sides

again you made up your mind

 

[mradtke66]

He - did - not - play - his - senior - year - of - college - ball. And it’s not like he was some off the charts talent going into his senior year. He was second team all conference his junior year. Second team all conference, sit a year - BOOM #16 pick in the draft. How did THAT not work out?? LOL There are probably 80 (or more) people every August who could be 1st round picks the following May. Scores of them play their way out of the first round, get injured, crap the bed at the combine etc. We took a guy at 16 who sat out his senior year AND the combine. It’s like TT owed somebody a favor LOL. And it’s not revisionist - it was a stunningly stupid pick the minute it was made. “OK big guy, you’ve got potential … now go out there and prove it your senior year - oh wait - you had to sit out? Ummmm well… ok we’ll check you out at the combine. Wait… what??? Can’t make the combine? Ummmm ok well no problem it’s not like we’re making you a top 10 pick and you were getting some accolades going into your senior year so yeah sure let’s burn the #16 pick. To be fair he did start 2 games and made *checks notes* 17 tackles and *checks notes again* zero sacks. On a positive note? We only paid him $14M so that was less than a million dollars a tackle ROTFL

I know he was hurt in college. His injury did not impact him in the pros. With his measurable, he might have gone higher than he did without the injury.

Yes he didn’t work out, but lots don’t.

 

[AKCheese]

You forgot the part where I said I had family inside 1265 . I heard both sides

again you made up your mind

We all heard both sides and we all heard second hand accounts from “highly placed sources speaking on the condition of anonymity LOL and yes I did and apparently so have you. Does not change that TT handled it in a gutless and classless manner.

 

[AKCheese]

I know he was hurt in college. His injury did not impact him in the pros. With his measurable, he might have gone higher than he did without the injury.

Yes he didn’t work out, but lots don’t.

It not a matter of his injury not impacting him in the pros. It’s the fact that we didn’t get to evaluate his play as a senior (or the combine). We drafted a second team all conference lineman who sat out his senior year at #16. Without his injury he might have gone higher? Seriously? Or maybe we would have seen what we eventually wound up with. 17 tackles in 14 games over 4 years for $14 Mil and the 16th pick. Again this is not on Harrell. I hope he invested his money wisely and is living comfortably. This was on TT (again irrelevant) - my actual point being I don’t think you find GMs banging down the door to throw money at a guy they essentially have only seen play half a season in the last 3 years - with 4(?) knee surguries and oh by the way he’s going to be 33. Then again all we need is one. At least if he goes to the Jets he won’t have Karma following him out there LOL