Packers: David Bakhtiari practicing shows return could be near

David Bakhtiari returned to practice for the Packers on Wednesday.

The first six weeks of the regular season have flown by. The Green Bay Packers have won five of them, and they’ve done so without their star left tackle.

David Bakhtiari is finally eligible to come off the PUP list. He had to miss the first six games.

And there is good news. At the first opportunity for Bakhtiari to be able to return to practice, he did. As expected, Bakhtiari was back out there on the practice field today.

This shouldn’t be overlooked. Bakhtiari tore his ACL on New Year’s Eve. Some players take longer to recover from such a significant injury.

Green Bay made the decision not to rush Bakhtiari back in September, allowing him an additional six weeks, minimum, to get closer to 100 percent.

When will David Bakhtiari return for Packers?

Just because he’s on the practice field, it doesn’t mean we’ll be seeing the superstar left tackle back out there on Sundays just yet. The team has three weeks to activate Bakhtiari to the 53-man roster, so it’s something that could happen as late as November.

And why rush? The Packers are flying high with a 5-1 record and the offensive line is doing just fine. The Packers are well on their way to another NFC North title and playoff run. That’s where Bakhtiari’s contributions will be needed the most.

The All-Pro now has time to prepare on the practice field. We can safely assume Bakhtiari won’t be back out there this week against the Washington Football Team. Green Bay then plays next Thursday night against the Arizona Cardinals. That could also be too soon, but who knows?

The Packers play the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 9 and the Seattle Seahawks in Week 10. One of those two games would make for a perfect return for Bakhtiari.