Now that a knee injury has knocked Christian Darrisaw out for the rest of the 2024 season, the Minnesota Vikings have to figure out who is going to be the team's starting left tackle for the remainder of the year. One possible solution could be someone who used to suit up for the Green Bay Packers, who are, of course, one of Minnesota's biggest rivals.
Former Packers offensive tackle David Bakhtiari is currently a free agent after spending the last 11 seasons with Green Bay. His career has been ravaged by injuries the last few years, but back in June, he revealed that he's still interested in continuing his career in the NFL.
When Bakhtiari has actually been on the field, he's still been one of the best offensive tackles in the league. In 2022, when he appeared in 11 games with the Packers, he finished the season with the fifth-best PFF pass-blocking grade among qualifying NFL offensive tackles.
Should the Minnesota Vikings consider signing former Green Bay Packers OT to replace Christian Darrisaw?
Bakhtiari is currently 33-years-old, and after only appearing in a total of 14 games in the last three seasons, he's likely not going to cost a lot to sign. His injury risk is obvious, but it's also a risk that has a high reward if he's able to remain healthy for the majority of his time on the field this season.
Signing someone like Bakhtiari is the kind of low-risk, high-reward move that Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has become known for during his tenure with the franchise. Signing the veteran offensive tackle would also allow Minnesota to add a solid replacement for Darrisaw without having to give up any future draft assets in a potential trade.
Could Bakhtiari become the next player to exchange his ugly green Packers jersey for a beautiful purple and gold Vikings uniform, or will Minnesota land on a different solution to replace Darrisaw in the starting lineup?