David Bakhtiari says he wants to play in NFL a couple more years - ESPN

David Bakhtiari's past few seasons have been marked by setbacks to his left knee, but after his fifth surgical procedure to that knee, the All-Pro left tackle is optimistic about continuing his career.

Bakhtiari, who was released by the Green Bay Packers after 11 seasons in March, said in an interview on «The Adam Schefter Podcast» that he's «really happy» with the progress from his latest surgery, a major procedure that took place in November — so much so that he hopes to play another couple of years.

«A lot of other people wanted me to just kind of grit through it, but no one experiences what you truly experience,» Bakhtiari said of his decision to have the fifth surgery in November. «Look, I've been gritting through it for three years. I'm in constant pain. I'm so happy now to be on the other side of it and get the actual surgery that I needed because my knee was not in a good place.»

Bakhtiari's knee troubles began when he tore his ACL on Dec. 31, 2020. In the past three seasons, he played in only 13 of a possible 51 regular-season games.

He said that the surgery «had a lot of big question marks» going into it but that he feels «really good» now and credited his surgeon, Brian Cole, for doing a «phenomenal job.»

«My goal right now is just to make sure that I not only fully recover but I can withstand and play the game that I want to play but also play and be there for a team no matter what,» Bakhtiari said. «I'm not a reliever guy, I am your cornerstone guy. Someone that's not only going to play in September but in December and into February and obviously hopefully for another couple of years.»

Before setbacks with the knee plagued his last three seasons with the Packers, he was a two-time first team All-Pro and