The Lass Word: Adams Trade Could Put Pack in Free Agent Receiver Market

Trains of thought: 

With the blockbuster news breaking last night that the Packers are trading Davante Adams to the Raiders in return for Las Vegas’s first and second round pick, Green Bay suddenly finds itself saving the $20 million they were carrying on this year’s cap to pay for his franchise tag salary.  ESPN reports the Packers will use the money to re-sign cornerback Rasul Douglas.  There may be enough left over to graze the free agent receiver pasture to bring in at least one established veteran.  There is certainly an interesting crop of pass catchers out there, any of whom would likely salivate to become the immediate favorite receiver of Aaron Rodgers. The list includes Odell Beckham, Mike Williams, Jarvis Landry, Juju Smith-Schuster, Julio Jones and AJ Green. The issue with virtually every one of those names in recent years has been injury.  There might also be enough room to bring back Marquez Valdes-Scantling.  

 

The extra first and second round selections also give the team the chance to draft one or more of an impressive crop of rookie receivers.  Las Vegas currently owns the 22nd pick on day one.  Among the top prospects are the Ohio State tandem of Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave, Alabama’s Jameson Williams and John Metchie (both coming off knee injuries),  Southern Cal’s Drake London, and Treylon Burks of Arkansas.  Christian Watson is a small school prospect out of North Dakota State that has been rapidly climbing up draft boards.  

 

The most shocking thing about the Adams trade is that it separates the star receiver from Rodgers.  Most everyone simply assumed that one of the assurances the Packers had to give Rodgers to convince him to return was that Adams would be retained.  The two have always been characterized as a package deal.  NFL Network reported that Rodgers knew of Adams’ impending departure, and also knew that Adams never intended to play for Green Bay again.  NFL Network further reports the Raiders will make Adams the top paid receiver in league history, with a multi year deal averaging over $28 million per year. ESPN reported the Packers offered to match the Raiders’ offer, but Adams preferred to change teams.  In Las Vegas he will reunite with his college teammate, quarterback Derek Carr.  I can’t figure out if I am more shocked at the Adams trade, or the fact that Rodgers knew about it and chose to come back to the Packers anyway.  Which brings me to my next train of thought. 

 

•  Let me see if I have this straight (and I’m not at all sure that I do): Under the terms of his new contract, if Aaron Rodgers decides to retire after the 2023 season, the Packers would take a $68 million dead money cap hit in 2024. If he chooses to retire after the 2024 campaign, the dead money figure rises even higher, to more than $76 million. The same applies if he is cut or traded. 

 

If I have that right, then no matter how much the NFL salary cap expands in the next few years, that dead money obligation would be devastating to the roster. The Packers know this, of course, and no doubt their plan would be to renegotiate that arrangement before it could kick in. Here’s the thing. My understanding is that Rodgers would have to agree and accept any reworking of his deal. 

 

It seems to me this gives Rodgers the leverage to literally hold the franchise hostage in order to get anything he wants. All he has to do is threaten to retire, or demand a trade, thereby setting off the dead money nuclear bomb.  

 

I have no problem with bringing Rodgers back. I’m kind of pumped about it. He gives Green Bay a chance to win every game they play. But I’m uncomfortable with giving him what amounts to the power to call all the shots. Rodgers is one of the great quarterbacks of all time, but I don’t want him dictating to the coaching staff and front office.  All of which makes me wonder, once again, how he will react to the trade of Davante Adams.

 

•  The Packers shouldn’t trade Jordan Love. He is fairly low cost in the third year of his rookie contract and he is likely better than any other back-up QB Green Bay could afford to bring in. The team will, however, have an interesting decision to make in the next offseason, as they must figure out whether to pick up the fifth year option on the former first round pick. That fifth year salary becomes a little more pricey, and with the Packers’ new long-term commitment to Rodgers, my guess is they will decline a fifth season for Love and draft Rodgers’ back-up. 

 

•  I truly hated to see Za’darius Smith go, even though I knew it had to happen. I was greatly relieved when he agreed to sign and return to the Ravens, his former team. I had this disturbing vision of one of the other NFC North teams scooping him up, and having to watch him terrorize our quarterbacks for the next several years.  Now comes word Z has changed his mind and won’t sign with Baltimore.  Dang.  Maybe the Vikings, Bears and Lions won’t find out.

 

•  With the Adams trade, it looks like Green Bay may well be in double digits in their number of draft picks this April. That’s a good thing.  Besides having to replace starters MVS, Billy Turner, Rasul Douglas, Chandon Sullivan and Adams, The Packers need to replenish their depth. Fill-in players like Henry Black, Oren Burks, Equanimeous St. Brown, Kingsley Keke, Kevin King, Whitney Mercilus and Dennis Kelly are all gone. The team needs as many darts as they can find to throw at the draft in hopes of hitting on three or four quality reserves. 

 

This will be especially critical if the team is once again hit hard by injuries. These back-ups also figure to be the core players as newly hired Rich Bisaccia endeavors to rebuild the special teams unit, unless the coaches choose to use more starters on these precarious plays. The 28th pick in the first round is really a glorified second rounder anyway. So unless somebody whom the Packers really covet falls to their spot, it makes sense to move down for an extra selection or two.