GREEN BAY — David Bakhtiari doesn’t know what the future holds for him.

He wants to keep playing football, but the now ex-Green Bay Packers five-time All-Pro left tackle knows that there is no guarantee that his perpetually problematic, five-time surgically repaired left knee will allow him to do so.

He is much more confident predicting what’s in store for his former team and its emerging star quarterback, Jordan Love — even though Bakhtiari’s difficult post-injury journey allowed him to actually block for Love in a game only one time.

Teammates with Love for three seasons — two of which Love spent on the depth chart behind Bakhtiari’s BFF, four-time NFL MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers — Bakhtiari got to know Love more than he might’ve other backups because Love’s girlfriend, ex-Oregon volleyball all-American Ronika Stone, and Bakhtiari’s wife Frankie, who played volleyball at Oregon and Colorado, are friends.

So, while Bakhtiari might’ve had his doubts about how good Love was going to be — while watching him struggle during the 2020 and 2021 training camps, and when he ascended to the starting job this past season after Rodgers was dealt to the New York Jets — he will be pulling for Love to continue his late-2023 success in the years ahead, even though they won’t be teammates anymore.

“You just have to tip your hat to him, his wanting to grow, wanting to get better, to keep striving for more. I think it showed throughout his play of being a young quarterback, and it’s something that I really appreciated.

“I think Green Bay’s really going to enjoy their time with Jordan. I wish him nothing but the best, honestly, and I think nothing but the best is going to come to him.”

That’s not to say that Bakhtiari is putting Love on the same Pro Football Hall of Fame trajectory as Rodgers, who is set to return to action with the Jets in 2024 after missing nearly all of last year after he ruptured his Achilles’ tendon on the Jets’ fourth offensive play of 2023.

But, while Bakhtiari doesn’t see the same innate talent in Love that he saw in Rodgers from the moment he arrived as a 2013 fourth-round draft pick in Rodgers’ sixth season as the starter, he does see a quarterback who has what it takes to lead the Packers to a Super Bowl title like the one they won with Rodgers in 2010 — and the title Bakhtiari is hoping to keep chasing with another team.

Offensive tackle David Bakhtiari saw his Packers career come to an end March 11, but he still sees big things in the franchise’s future with quarterback Jordan Love leading the offense. JEFFREY PHELPS, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES

“All of our eyes are tainted because we’ve seen a generational guy attack the position. And it taints your view,” Bakhtiari said. “You cannot evaluate the quarterback position (comparing them to Rodgers). Aaron’s going to make at least one throw a day that is going to taint your view on how to evaluate (other) quarterbacks. And I strongly do believe that.

“Those are really hard shoes to fill, because Aaron is so amazing at what he can do. But there’s different ways to play the position to be extremely effective. So, I think while Jordan doesn’t have what Aaron has — which is OK to say — he does make up in other areas that are fantastic and play to his strengths.

“I think he’s going to start blowing through his ceiling and going to start raising his floor. I think that’s fantastic, and that’s what you hope for. He’s a fantastic, young, ascending player. He’s an unbelievable person.”

As for his own football lot in life, Bakhtiari said he is “almost at the halfway mark” since his November surgery, the fifth he’s endured on his left knee since tearing his ACL during practice on Dec. 31, 2020.

Although he wouldn’t say specifically what that surgery entailed, he said it was a form of cartilage regeneration but one that was “very different, more novel in that space” and was performed by Dr. Brian Cole, a Chicago-based specialist in such procedures.

“I didn’t realize how much pain I was really in until after I let the dust settle from the surgery,” Bakhtiari said. “Now, at least in my daily life, I’m like, ‘Wow. I was harboring and holding onto a lot of pain that I was trying to justify.’ I’m glad that I’ve gotten over that hump, and now I’m just waiting and crossing my fingers that he’ll clear me back to play.”

The Packers released Bakhtiari on March 11, a move that got his $39.99 million salary-cap number off his books and created nearly $21 million in cap room, which helped give the team the fiscal wherewithal to sign running back Josh Jacobs and safety Xavier McKinney.

Although general manager Brian Gutekunst called Bakhtiari “one of the premier tackles of his generation and one of the best linemen in the history of the Packers,” his knee only allowed him to play in one game last season — the Packers’ season-opening Sept. 10 win at Chicago, in which he played at his usual elite level.

He wound up on injured reserve shortly thereafter, though, and after starting 118 of a possible 127 games to start his career, he’s now played in just 13 of a possible 57 games since the injury. He said he could sense the frustration inside 1265 Lombardi Ave. as his knee problems lingered.

“I think I saw the writing on the wall, saw the nonverbal actions displayed to me when I decided to put my health first and that needed to get the surgery,” Bakhtiari said. “I mean, it’s not ideal. If we had to do it over again, obviously probably would’ve done this the first time. It probably would have saved us two years of trying to work around (the underlying issue).

“I think it was more of a miscommunication. I don’t think anyone understood the magnitude of the surgery I had and the fact that I was non-weight bearing for eight weeks. Just coming back (to Green Bay), it was like, being welcomed but not at the same time. That’s the best way to describe it.”

Set to turn 33 on Sept. 30, Bakhtiari’s existing résumé might be enough to eventually get him into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, although joining a contender, winning a Super Bowl and adding a few more accolades would surely strengthen his case.

“I definitely have ambitions of what I want to accomplish still, personally. But I have to clear the final hurdles from the health side and get cleared by the doctor,” Bakhtiari said. “I would love to keep playing, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. The juice has to be worth the squeeze; it has to make sense for both sides. That’s the business, and if it works out, then obviously it’s the right place for me to be.

“If you saw the scar where they cut me open, it’s not small. I think a lot of people would be like, ‘Are you kidding me right now?’ It’s unfortunate, the timing and the circumstance. And I do wish it had happened differently.

“But sometimes you’ve got to play the hand that you’re dealt. Sometimes you know you’re going to lose to the house, and sometimes you’re going to win. That’s just the way it goes.”

Green Bay Packers Rival’s #1 Cornerback On The Run From Police

The Green Bay Packers have mostly dominated the NFC North since the 1990s. The Detroit Lions have been attempting to flip that script though, earning their first division title in the NFC North and first conference championship appearance in 30 years in 2023. After a productive offseason stretch for the Detroit Lions, they look to start a stretch of dominance in the NFC North. However, this may be getting more difficult as of next season as one of their starting cornerbacks is currently evading arrest from a Florida police department.

Cam Sutton Issued Arrest Warrant

Cameron Sutton is an NFL starting cornerback for the Detroit Lions. According to the Hillsborough Police Department, he has a warrant out for his arrest under the citation of domestic violence/ aggravated battery.

𝐃𝐨 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐧?
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office needs your assistance in locating a wanted subject: Cameron Sutton, 29.

He is wanted for Aggravated Battery – Domestic Violence. He may be driving a Jeep Grand Wagoneer with a plate number of… pic.twitter.com/uwn7H0sSXo

— HCSO (@HCSOSheriff) March 20, 2024

There are reports of the 29-year-old cornerback strangling his significant other and throwing her out of a third-story window, though these reports are not confirmed. What is confirmed is that on March 7th the Hillsborough Police Department in Florida issued a warrant for Sutton’s arrest for one count of aggravated battery-domestic violence for an incident in Lutz, Florida, a suburb in Tampa.

“We served his warrant on the seventh because of all the evidence that we found there,” Martello said. “Couldn’t find him here in Tampa, pretty sure he fled. We got a couple hits on his license plate (on) license plate readers, but haven’t been able to track him down here, so that’s where we’re at right now.

“They’ve attempted to make contact with him, can’t get him on the phone, so they’ve released — our detectives have exhausted everything to try and get ahold of him and that’s why we end up putting the stuff on social media.”

Cameron Sutton’s Impact On The Detroit Lions And Green Bay Packers

Cameron Sutton signed a three-year deal with the Detroit Lions in the 2023 offseason worth 33 million dollars. In his first season as the starting corner under the new deal, he underperformed, particularly late in the season and into the postseason. If the Detroit Lions were to cut him over the ongoing legal case, Sutton would charge their cap hit over 10 million dollars for the 2024-25 season.

In Sutton’s three games against the Green Bay Packers, he totaled just 5 total tackles and no interceptions with a 1-2 record.  The idea that Sutton’s absence from the Lions would affect the Green Bay Packers game plan much is unlikely due to his negligible impact on the field in their times seeing him.

A cut/arrest would likely change the Detroit Lions’ philosophy for their first-round picks, likely looking for more help in the cornerback room than the presumed wide receiver or edge rusher. It is a complicated situation that implies a lot for the people involved in the criminal investigation and the teams involved with the player.

Everyone should wish for the woman’s health, both mental and physical, to be preserved. Cameron Sutton needs to be found and detained to ensure his and others’ health and safety, as well as execute due process on the arrest warrant he was issued.

The Green Bay Packers organization cannot do much other than observe the on-field ramifications this may have for the Detroit Lions.