Green Bay Packers

Bakhtiari's Leadership Matters For Jordan Love's First Year As A Starter

Photo Credit: Samantha Madar/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wis.

With quarterback Aaron Rodgers and kicker Mason Crosby now out of the frame, left tackle David Bakhtiari has inherited the title of “longest-tenured Green Bay Packer.”

Green Bay’s All-Pro offensive lineman hasn’t minced words since the Rodgers trade. But as the page begins to turn to a new chapter, it’s critical for Bakhtiari to be a leader for this group while Jordan Love is ushered in at quarterback.

Bakhtiari’s words back in April while appearing on the Bussin’ With the Boys podcast didn’t inspire a whole lot of optimism. Granted, the Rodgers trade to New York may have still been raw, but Green Bay’s left tackle immediately pivoted to the dreaded “rebuild” word.

“The Packers are rebuilding, whether you think so or not.” Bakhtiari said when asked about Green Bay’s leverage in a Rodgers deal. “Could they be good? I don’t know. Could they be bad? Probably, if you’re betting, more people are gonna think they’re gonna be bad than good, right? Isn’t that fair to say?”

On one hand, we always want the players and coaches to be honest instead of giving the lame, common answer, right? On the other hand, moving on from Rodgers won’t be an easy task by any stretch of the imagination. But imagine being Love and reading this from your blindside protector. Are you feeling good about things after this? Probably not.

Bakhtiari doubled down on the rebuild take earlier this week during Packers organized team activities but provided a bit of a twist in his mindset.

“How I look at it is, it’s disrespectful to say you’re not rebuilding off a Hall of Fame quarterback,” Bakhtiari noted after an OTA practice session. “It was disrespectful to say you weren’t rebuilding off of Brett Favre when you moved to Aaron. No one knew Aaron and what he was going to be, so I’m not going to sit here and like pull back those words because that is, when you look at how it’s been building, how we were chasing after it and the cap — there was a bunch of situations that can definitely allude to it — we have a young team.”

It was what Bakhtiari went on to say following the rebuild debate that the Packers can use as evidence that the left tackle truly wants what’s best for the team.

“Whatever the team needs for me to be. They want me to yell and scream at ’em, I’ll yell and scream. They want me to shut the (expletive) up, I’m gonna shut the (expletive) up. I just wanna win. I’ve been around the block enough times and I want to win.”

The Packers must hope this is just a short-term reaction from a guy who can’t be thrilled to see his Hall of Famer pal traded away.

Bakhtiari mentioned multiple times the hunger he has to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. When you trade a quarterback like Rodgers, those chances obviously take a hit. Expecting Love to step in without missing a beat would be foolish. Bakhtiari recognizes all this, but it’s important to instill some faith in Green Bay’s young quarterback instead of wondering what could’ve been if Rodgers was still a Wisconsinite.

Transitioning from Brett Favre to Rodgers wasn’t easy. And certainly there had to be veterans on the back nine of their careers who would’ve preferred Favre in the short term under the guise having a better chance to win in that moment. The critical point is to not toss out pessimistic thoughts that the new sheriff in town — in this case Love — can be affected by.

Bakhtiari speaking his mind is completely fine, but doesn’t there have to be a time and a place for such expressions?

Put yourself in Love’s shoes. Yes, Bakhtiari and Rodgers are close, and that bond will always be present. Although, one would think that it doesn’t make it easier for Love to see the ever-present tweeting and talking about Rodgers from No. 69. Bakhtiari’s tweet is innocent in that it’s not a shot at Love in any sense. But these still aren’t things Love can possibly be looking at and thinking, Sweet, this is awesome.

Bakhtiari has always been a big presence in the Green Bay locker room. He’s earned that right, and when he speaks up, the team listens. Year 1 with Love won’t be a smooth ride start to finish. No journey in the NFL is. Pile on top of it all the youth movement at wide receiver and tight end and, yes, there will be plenty of hiccups. Having Bakhtiari be a guide and a reassuring voice will be paramount during those tough moments.

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Photo Credit: Samantha Madar/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wis.

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