Five potential landing spots for David Bakhtiari

After 11 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, left tackle David Bakhtiari is free to sign with any NFL team. Since a serious knee injury in 2020, Bakhtiari has barely played — and now, he isn't projected to be fully healthy at least before training camp.

However, when he's able to play, he still performs at a high level. He has shown willingness to keep playing, and that combination of factors creates an interesting set of possibilities for the 32-year-old former All-Pro offensive lineman.

Let's evaluate five possible landing spots for Bakhtiari.

Kansas City Chiefs

That's the most obvious answer, because Bakhtiari and the Chiefs would be perfect for one another. From the player's perspective, Bakh would be an obvious upgrade compared to projected starting left tackle Wanya Morris, a third-round pick in last year's draft who played 30% of the offensive snaps in his rookie season coming in as a backup — and played at a mediocre level. The plan B is to move Jawann Taylor to left tackle, with Lucas Niang playing at right tackle, which isn't a great solution either.

The Chiefs haven't re-signed Donovan Smith, who started last year, and Bakhtiari is a much better player.

The health question marks are obvious, but the Chiefs could handle Bakhtiari missing six or seven games if he's healthy enough to play from November on.

Baltimore Ravens

Ronnie Stanley is the left tackle, so it's hard to know if Bakhtiari would be willing to move to the right side at this stage of his career. The projected right tackle for the Ravens is Patrick Mekari since the team decided to trade away Morgan Moses.

With a pass-heavier offense since Todd Monken took over as an offensive coordinator last year, the Ravens would certainly benefit from having an elite pass protector, while Bakhtiari would have the real chance to compete for a Super Bowl ring.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys lost Tyron Smith to the New York Jets in free agency. Right now, the idea is to move Tyler Smith from guard to tackle, but that creates a downgrade in two positions, since TJ Bass is projected to start at left guard.

With Bakhtiari, Tyler Smith could be kept inside. Moreover, the left tackle knows Mike McCathy and his system really well, which would ease the transition.

New York Jets

Bakhtiari's connection to Aaron Rodgers is obvious. Currently, the Jets seem set at tackle after signing Tyron Smith and trading for Morgan Moses, but both tackles are 33. Smith, in particular, has a long track record of injuries.

Having two left tackles with injury question marks is an obvious risk, but it increases the chances of one of them being healthy when the Jets need them. At the same time, it would create some breathing room to allow Bakhtiari to come back at his own pace.

Green Bay Packers

The Packers released Bakhtiari because of his cap number. He was projected to count $40 million against the cap, and cutting him opened up almost $20 million for Green Bay. But that doesn't mean the left tackle would be useless for the team.

At the moment, Rasheed Walker is the projected left tackle. He played well last season, but not well enough to preclude an upgrade. Additionally, the depth at tackle is questionable — Caleb Jones and Luke Tenuta are the primary backups.

If healthy, Bakhtiari would obviously elevate the offense's upside. It just needs to be for the right price.