GREEN BAY, Wis. — Despite not playing in either of the Green Bay Packers’ two preseason games so far—and he’ll likely be absent from the third, too—starting right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele should be in the lineup for the Sept. 13 regular season opener against the Minnesota Vikings.
The Packers’ training staff has done its part in ensuring he’s eased back into action slowly while recovering from offseason surgery on a partially torn patellar tendon. The injury occurred in the Packers’ Dec. 14 loss to the Denver Broncos eight months ago, and while he attempted to return in time for the playoffs, it would ultimately be a season-ending blow.
Bako-Bewele returned to 11-on-11 drills for the first time Aug. 9, sliding into his usual right tackle spot. However, he hasn’t handled a full allotment of reps; last year’s second-round pick, Anthony Belton, has been cross-trained between right guard and right tackle, splitting reps with Bako-Bewele.
That won’t continue to be the case. Make no mistake about it—Bako-Bewele is the Packers’ right tackle, and if all goes well, he’ll return to being a fixture for the offensive line by the time the season begins.
“I think he’ll be ready to roll Week 1,” said offensive line coach Luke Butkus on Saturday. “He’s put some really good reps on film the last week and a half of practice, and that’s continued to grow. So again, we expect that this week, too.”
With Bako-Bewele expected to be sidelined for the preseason finale next week, the only true ramp-up he’ll have before the regular season is the Aug. 26 joint practice with Mike LaFleur’s Arizona Cardinals. In a way, that may actually be the best possible outcome; Bako-Bewele will get live reps in a controlled environment against an opposing defense that isn’t the same unit he sees in practice every week.
Bako-Bewele’s confidence in being ready to return to form by the time the season begins never wavered. Just over a year since inking a four-year extension worth a maximum value of $92 million, the 27-year-old didn’t mince words on where he is in his recovery earlier in training camp.
“It’s not an option; I’m playing Week 1,” he said in July.
The former fourth-round pick faced a gauntlet of injuries in 2025. He suffered an oblique issue in the Packers’ season-opening win over the Detroit Lions and missed the Thursday night game against the Washington Commanders four days later. He was back on the field in time for a matchup with superstar pass rusher Myles Garrett and the Cleveland Browns’ tenacious defense, but aggravated the injury on the first snap from scrimmage.
The 6’4”, 304-pound Bako-Bewele was absent for the next two games before returning Oct. 12 against the Cincinnati Bengals. At some point, while working his way back into the lineup, he sustained a back injury that would plague him for the remainder of the season.
It was evident.
Over the next 10 games, Bako-Bewele surrendered 16 pressures, or more than one-and-a-half pressures per game. His season—along with the Packers’—took a nosedive in the aforementioned loss to the Broncos. Bako-Bewele left the game with the knee injury, but the Packers also lost All-Pro pass defensive end Micah Parsons to a season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament that afternoon, as well as wideout Christian Watson, who was transported to a Denver-area hospital with chest and shoulder injuries.