IF you want to get into a debate — and win — over what the biggest question mark is for the Washington Commanders headed into the 2024 season as far as the starting lineup, just go with left tackle.
It’s the position that will protect the blind side of rookie quarterback and No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels and appears completely unresolved, which is why Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine suggested the Commanders sign free agent and former Green Bay Packers star David Bakhtiari to fill that spot.
The Commanders current options at left tackle are veteran journeymen Cornelius Lucas and Trent Scott, rookie third-round pick Brandon Coleman and, possibly, Sam Cosmi, who played tackle his first two seasons but started all 17 games at guard in 2023 and was one of the NFL’s best at the position down the stretch.
“The blindside commands priority,” Ballentine said. “It always has and it always will. With a rookie quarterback in the building, especially one with some of the pocket-management concerns Jayden Daniels brings, the priority on sorting out the position is raised even higher.”
Bakhtiari is an 11-year NFL veteran and five-time NFL All-Pro who has started every game he’s every played in. In March 2020 he signed a 4-year, $105.5 million contract extension that made him the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history.
Through 2023, Bakhtiari has accumulated $126.8 million in career earnings.
Knee Issues Have Slowed Bakhtiari in Recent Years
Bakhtiari was one of the NFL’s dominant offensive tackles in the decade after he was selected by the Packers out of Colorado in the fourth round (No. 109 overall) in the 2013 NFL draft.
Bakhtiari made the NFL All-Pro Team five consecutive seasons from 2016 to 2020 — a stretch in which he made three Pro Bowls — which played into his record-setting contract.
After tearing his ACL in practice in Dec. 2020 — his last All-Pro Season — Bakhtiari only played one game in 2021. He played 11 games in 2022 but another knee injury kept him out of all but one game in 2023, meaning he’s only played 13 games in the last three seasons.
Is it worth rolling the dice on Bakhtiari for the Commanders to see if he has one more great-to-good season left? According to a report from Ian Rapoport in May 2024, Bakhtiari was on pace to have a clean bill of health in 2024.
“Former #Packers All-Pro LT David Bakhtiari, who is recovering from knee surgeries, had a positive follow-up exam with expert Dr. Brian Cole, and Cole proclaimed him on schedule for a 2024 season return,” Rapoport wrote on X on May 24. “Cole is the chairman of Orthopaedics at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and chairman of surgery at Oak Park Hospital.
LT Options on Roster Don’t Inspire Confidence
Looking at what the Commanders currently have at left tackle doesn’t conjure up much hope for what is arguably the second-most important position on the offense.
Lucas is entering his 11th season and has made 37 of his 49 career starts with the Commanders since 2020, including a career-high 12 starts in 2022.
Scott started 22 games across six seasons for four different teams, including two starts for the Commanders in 2023.
Coleman, 6-foot-4 and 313 pounds, was a third-round pick (No. 67 overall) for the Commanders in 2024 and was a two-time All-Big 12 pick at TCU.
