More like David BACK-htiari amiright?? Ahhhhh.

First of all, I love that Rodgers and Bakhtiari just tool around the greater Green Bay area in golf cart like they’re Van Wilder and Taj:

When Bakhtiari bought Rodgers that rig a few years ago I figured they’d maybe be driving it around the practice facility, etc. But that thing seems like it’s all over Green Bay. Neighborhoods, residential areas, highway 141, they take it everywhere.

Anyway: YUGE news yesterday with David Bakhtiari finally coming off of the PUP list and joining practice. If I were a betting man I’m not sure I would bet on him being your starting left tackle in 3 weeks at Minnesota, but hopefully this represents actual, tangible progress in what has now been an 18 month recovery from his ACL injury at the end of the 2020/21 season.

Now Elgton Jenkins is only 9 months removed from his torn ACL, but he’s already been on the practice field for a few weeks and it does seem like he should be ready for week 1. Just nuts to follow the progress of both of those injuries and how different the recoveries have been. But for an offense that is going to be in flux at the beginning of the season with a reworked wide receiver room, having some semblance of order on the offensive line will go a long way to bringing some rhythm for Rodgers & Company.

Somewhat related: Friday’s preseason game was the best Jordan Love has looked in a Packer jersey. More decisive, better footwork, and made some incredible throws that were dropped by rookie/undrafted wide receivers. I’m not sure why there’s a segment of Packer Twitter that seems to take a weird amount of joy in declaring Jordan Love a ‘bust,’ but he has taken some VERY real and progressive steps forward.

What does that mean? I’m not really sure. Aaron Rodgers’ contract extension means that he’s going to be a Packer for the rest of his NFL career, but that could mean a lot of things. He’s signed through the 2026 season, but with Rodgers’ personality who knows how it plays out. He may play until 2026, he may play this season and then embark on a year-long vision quest at Joshua Tree. When he signed that extension in the off-season it was widely assumed that Love would never be, ‘the guy,’ in Green Bay, but I’m not so sure about that.

In any case, they’re going to have to make a big decision on his 5th year option after this season. Regardless of whether or not he still takes the baton from Rodgers at some point, the progress is exciting. At the very least he is improving potential trade value. I honestly wouldn’t hate seeing him start a game this year to see how he’s progressed from the start he made in Kansas City last season.

PS: After playing the Dodgers tight for a 4 game set last week, OF COURSE this Brewer team immediately loses a series to a rebuilding Cubs team. They blew SIX (6!) leads combined on Friday and Saturday. Saturday’s extra innings loss was one of the most infuriating of the season. They bounced back with a win yesterday, but their record against the Cubs/Reds/Pirates lately has not been good. In fact the Brewers are now 7-9 against the Cubs on the season. They won 95 games and the division last year by beating up on those three teams, but they just can’t seem to do that consistently this year. And on top of it all, Cardinals Dark Magic has been fully activated. The Brewers turned a 4 game division lead into a 5 game division deficit in 20 games. Astounding. I’m no conceding anything in August, but man have they been frustrating to root for.

Double PS: Start Keston at DH every game this week. Guy’s got an .850 OPS on a team desperate for offense. Enough is enough.