There are a ton of weaknesses that the New York Jets’ offense had last season. Many point to the backup QB position being the biggest one with Zach Wilson, Trevor Siemian, and Tim Boyle all struggling to compete. However, every offense will be held back without the presence of a solid offensive line.
The Jets’ offensive line was poor last season, mainly due to injuries and a lack of depth. There are plenty of options to fix this offensive line this offseason and there is speculation the Jets could bring in Green Bay Packers LT David Bakhtiari due to his close connection with Aaron Rodgers. However, a closer look at the situation reveals that the Jets should avoid bringing in Bakhtiari this offseason.
2. The Jets need to avoid a repeat of last offseason
Bakhtiari could be released this offseason after 11 years with Green Bay. The Packers could save $19 million in salary cap space by cutting the veteran tackle who has played in only 14 games across the past three years due to injuries.
Last offseason’s plan for the Jets was simple: secure the services of Aaron Rodgers, then ensure his happiness by bringing all of his best friends to the team. However, almost every single addition turned out to be a flop for the Jets.
None of Rodgers’ friends helped the team, despite their close friendship. Bringing Bakhtiari in essentially follows the same plan as last season, and if it didn’t work once, what makes the Jets think it will work again?
1. Injuries have derailed Bakhtiari and made him mostly unavailable the past few seasons.
The amount of injuries that Bakhtiari has had in the past few seasons has been overwhelming. Here is a look at the extensive injury history he has endured from December of 2020 to September of 2023:
Bakhtiari has talent on the field, but the best ability in the NFL is availability.
Bakhtiari can be likened to Tony Boselli and how his career was derailed by injuries; it was brutal considering how great of a blocker he was with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Bringing in Bakhtiari won’t solve the offensive line issues, as a key problem on the Jets was injuries derailing the offensive line. With how undependable health-wise Bakhtiari is, it just is not worth the risk of bringing him in and putting the offensive line in the same situation again.
On paper, it seems like a good idea to bring Bakhtiari, as he is a two-time First-Team All-Pro. However, the risks heavily outweigh the positives for a team that is in win-now mode.
This is the year the Jets need to make the playoffs and have a deep run. Jobs are at stake and another failure of a season could kick start another rebuild if the dice rolls that way.
The Jets have options with a very rich offensive tackle draft class available this offseason and plenty of better and more dependable choices in the free agency market. Time will tell what they do, but it would not be a good idea to sign David Bakhtiari to this team.