David Bakhtiari says goodbye to Packers in social media post

The release of Bakhtiari should save Green Bay around $21 million in cap space for the 2024 season, as Bakhtiari carried a $40 million cap hit.

A little under an hour after the NFL’s legal tampering window opened up for the 2024 free agency class, Green Bay Packers tackle David Bakhtiari took to social media to say goodbye to the organization and the city. In an unsurprising move, it appears that the Packers will be letting the offensive lineman, who currently carries a cap hit of $40 million for the upcoming season, hit the open market.

On Sunday, ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reported that Bakhtiari was likely to be released, so there was a level of foreshadowing here. Based on Over the Cap’s numbers, the release of Bakhtiari should save the team around $21 million in immediate cap space.

Below is Bakhtiari’s message to Green Bay, as he deals with the inevitable:

A lot of emotion in this. I just want to say THANK YOU Green Bay. Thank you for the last 11 years. It’s been a hell of a run. I always wanted to raise a Lombardi on Lombardi avenue, but I will never complain. I gave it my all. I always gave it my best no matter the circumstance and to me, that truly was enough. My 32 year old self is so damn proud of that 21 year old with no facial hair, bushy tail kid that just wanted to do his best. I’m so proud of you. For whatever happens next, I look forward to it. To the city and fans all across the world, I just want to say thank you. To the entire organization, Thank you. To entire coaching staffs, Thank you. To the entire support staff, Thank you. To my wife and daughter (Frankie and Felix): I hope you are proud. To my family (Debbie, Karl, Eric, Andrew, and Danielle): I hope I represented our name with pride these past 11 years in Green Bay. I cannot thank everyone, so I hope this post will suffice. Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile, because it happened.

Love 69. #Dinnerfor2

Bakhtiari’s tenure with the Packers will almost certainly be remembered as a mixed bag. As a pass protector, few were even in the conversation with Bakhtiari when he was healthy. That last part of that sentence is the big caveat. Since tearing his ACL in 2020, Bakhtiari, who had recently signed a four-year, $92 million extension, was only able to start in 13 games over the subsequent three seasons.

With Bakhtiari out at left tackle, the team’s future at the bookend positions seems to be a pair of 2022 draft picks: Rasheed Walker (left tackle) and Zach Tom (right tackle). With Bakhtiari out of the lineup for most of the 2023 season, Walker beat out veteran Yosh Nijman for the position on Jordan Love’s blindside, recording 851 snaps played offensively — good for 78 percent of the team’s total plays last season. The only question now is whether Walker will be an uncontended starter in 2024 or if the Packers will draft an offensive lineman to push him.