GREEN BAY, Wis. – David Bakhtiari hasn't practiced all week, and the Green Bay Packers starting left tackle for 35 straight games probably won't play in Sunday's preseason game at the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He has a knee injury, and although he wouldn't say how it happened or how severe it is, he did not sound concerned that it would keep him from being ready for the regular-season opener against the Chicago Bears on Sept. 13.
"I'm confident in the plan the coaches and the trainers have," Bakhtiari said Thursday after missing his fourth straight practice.
Bakhtiari played all 33 snaps with the starters in last Thursday's preseason opener at New England but hasn't practiced since. He allowed two sacks against the Patriots in an uncharacteristically poor showing that might have been impacted by his knee.
The third-year pro has never missed a start. He took over the starting job in Week 1 of his rookie season.
"Come regular season, what am I, 35 for 35? That's 100 percent," Bakhtiari said. "That's pretty good odds."
In the meantime, the Packers plan to use utility lineman Don Barclay at left tackle, a position he's never played in an NFL regular-season game. To complicate matters, he's coming off reconstructive knee surgery after he tore his ACL last August and missed the entire season.
Barclay also struggled against the Patriots and was playing his natural right tackle position, where he has started 18 regular-season games. In practice on Thursday, he got beat badly by defensive end Datone Jones in the one-on-one pass rush drill. Although he won two other reps, his camp-long record in that drill is just 12-7, easily the worst among the top eight offensive linemen.
Ringo stars: Before Thursday, you'd have a hard time coming up with any impact plays by rookie defensive tackle Christian Ringo. Then the sixth-round pick turned in a near-dominant practice that came seemingly out of nowhere. He won both of his one-on-one reps and then nearly intercepted a screen pass that he batted down. "I wouldn't say I have things figured out, just not thinking so much," Ringo said. "Just play football. Not overanalyzed it or nothing. Just go out there and do what I've been doing. Just have fun."
Backman catches on: Maybe this was the day for sixth-round picks because another one, rookie tight end Kennard Backman, had perhaps his best practice. He caught a touchdown pass from a Matt Blanchard during a red-zone drill.
Streak over: Mason Crosby's streak of 28 straight made field goals in practice and the preseason came to an end on, of all things, an extra point. He pushed the 33-yard PAT wide right. Special teams coordinator Ron Zook said Crosby misjudged the wind. Crosby followed that up by making his next five kicks ranging from 38 to 50 yards.
Ball skills: First-round draft pick Damarious Randall nearly had a two-interception day. He picked off Blanchard in the red zone and then nearly came up with a diving interception in the end zone off Scott Tolzien later in the practice.
Injury report: Defensive back Kyle Sebetic (ankle) and cornerback Tay Glover-Wright (hamstring) both returned to practice. That left only seven players on the sideline, including safety Morgan Burnett, who was excused for a second straight day for a personal matter. Those who missed because of injuries were: Receiver Javess Blue (shoulder), cornerback Demetri Goodson (calf), defensive tackle Mike Daniels (ankle), tight end Justin Perillo (concussion), receiver Jared Abbrederis (concussion) and Bakhtiari.
