David Bakhtiari’s appearance on the Bussin With The Boys podcast was unvarnished. It was pure Bakhtiari.
Amongst the seemingly endless amount of interesting takes, in the nearly 3-hour long show, Bakhtiari chose some interesting words when discussing the Rodgers trade situation.
“The Packers are rebuilding, whether you think so or not. 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?” Bakhtiari said when asked about Green Bay’s willingness to make a deal just to be done with it. “So then they’ll be like, ‘Well, we’re gonna suck anyways. We want what we want, and we’re not gonna bend to anyone. So we’ll just eat it. . . . We’ll pay you, we don’t care. If we’re gonna do it our way, it’s gonna be on our terms. If not, what are we gonna be, Super Bowl contenders anyway? So we’ll eat it, you can hang on the side. We’ll pay you your money, and then we’ll suck anyways, get the picks, as compared to dealing him for something that you shouldn’t have.”
Many Cheeseheads were frustrated not just with Bakhtiari’s suggestion that the team could “suck,” but also his use of the term “they” when referring to the Packers.
The Athletics’ Matt Schneidman is one of the best and most credible Packers’ sources around. Schneidman recently appeared on Nine to Noon with John Kuhn and Brian Butch on 97.3 The Game and shared similar feelings as he expressed his concerns over Bakhtiari’s remarks.
“I think the thing that stuck out most, my ears kind of perked up when I heard it, was the bit he had about ‘they,’ referring to the Packers as ‘they.’ Listen, I don’t think it’s a big deal that David is referring to the Packers as ‘they’ instead of ‘we’ when he talks about the front office part of it… I don’t think that’s a huge deal.
What I think is a little more concerning, and I would not be surprised if this caught some of the people in the building off guard, is the part of him talking about them potentially sucking now. I understand that he said, ‘That’s what people probably think.’ David Bakhtiari is not saying, ‘We are probably going to suck.’
But I think the mere mention of the possibility of the team that you are on sucking, even if you are trying to reflect your beliefs, or the beliefs of fans, is not a great look… As the left tackle for the new quarterback, as a leader in that locker room, as someone whose job it is to pump up the quarterback and pump up the team…
You’re still employed by the Packers. You’re still, you could say, the best player on the team when healthy. Sometimes you don’t need to keep it that real.”
Schneidman perfectly echoes the concerns of the fans. It’s been a rough few years for Bakhtiari but he is a senior leader on the team. As a still high level offensive tackle, and a guy who’s been through it before, having him in the right frame of mind, publicly and privately, would be a huge asset for Green Bay.
Green Bay’s other most trusted source, ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, joined The Rich Eisen Show to discuss the latest on the Rodgers trade. Click play to watch.
