Report: David Bakhtiari at Left Tackle, Bryan Bulaga at Right Tackle

News coming out of the NFL Owners Meeting has Mike McCarthy confirming Bakhtiari will stay at left tackle and Bulaga will move back to right tackle.

As predicted here at Cheesehead TV last week, Packers head coach Mike McCarthy reportedly told Chris Roth of WBAY-TV in Green Bay that Bryan Bulaga will move back to right tackle and David Bakhtiari will stay at left tackle while at the NFL Owners Meeting in Orlando on Tuesday:

This seemed to be inevitable but something nobody within the organization confirmed since last season ended.

It didn't make much sense to move Bakhtiari away from the position where he had such an encouraging season in 2013 as a rookie. Taking into account Bakhtiari's quick feet, competitiveness and room for growth, it just made sense to allow him to protect Aaron Rodgers' backside.

By moving Bulaga back to right tackle, where he played from 2010 through 2012, he stays at a spot where he's already experienced considerable success.

With Bulaga's contract set to expire after the 2014, it also made sense from a financial perspective to make him a right tackle, where his earning power might be influenced by the perception that he's a right tackle. On average, right tackles make significantly less than left tackles throughout the NFL.

Bulaga enters 2014 needing to prove he can stay healthy after landing on injured reserve in each of the past seasons, first with a broken capsule in his hip in 2012 and then with a torn ACL suffered during training camp in 2013.

The Packers might have to go back to the drawing board should either Bakhtiari or Bulaga get hurt once again, but one of their backup plans probably includes Derek Sherrod, the former first round draft choice that's missed his fair share of time the past couple seasons due to injury as well.

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Comments (7)

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RCPackerFan's picture

March 25, 2014 at 11:38 am

Yup, pretty much what most of us have said here, myself included.

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L's picture

March 26, 2014 at 11:25 am

Yup; though, I do hope to see Sherrod put up a terrific fight for the starting spot at LT because there was a reason he was a 1st round pick and I'd like to see it realized finally.

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Doug_In_Sandpoint's picture

March 25, 2014 at 11:58 am

It's huge to have a left tackle able to perform a few years under a rookie contract. We can keep that money and put it against other positions. It is a luxury almost like Kap and Wilson at QB for their teams. Of course the day is coming when you will have to pay, but until then we've seen it is a considerable advantage to have young players able to perform in the expensive spots.

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Mojo's picture

March 26, 2014 at 05:53 pm

Good point. Of course a good LT is not going to get paid like a top QB, but it helps to have a competent one for a few years on the cheap. Hope Bakh hasn't plateaued because he still needs to get better if he's going to be protecting an inevitably aging less mobile ARod.

I'm hoping Sherrod surprises this year and kicks some ass. He has an NFL pro size body for LT and was impressing his teammates last season in practice. Plus, what he's been through he's due some good luck.

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Allan Murphy's picture

March 25, 2014 at 01:42 pm

who no maybe Sherrod takes over when bahktiari gets hurt idk ?

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4thand1's picture

March 25, 2014 at 09:56 pm

What would be great is Sherrod having a great camp and making the job hard on the coaches. He's a #1 pick with lots to prove. Hopefully he can stay healthy. A win win for everyone.

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The TKster's picture

March 25, 2014 at 09:20 pm

Time will tell, as it does in all matters.

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