Now that it appears Aaron Rodgers will return to the Green Bay Packers next season and either has or is working on a cap-friendly deal, the next question is what the NFL franchise will do with star wide receiver Davante Adams.
Turns out, the deal with Rodgers allowed the Packers to assign the franchise tag to Adams, keeping their best offensive duo together for at least one more season.
Thanks to the new cap room, the #Packers are expected to franchise tag WR Davante Adams. https://t.co/H4GeatDNpm
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 8, 2022
Ian Rapoport later said that the official news on Adams “should” come later today.
From our breaking news coverage: The #Packers want to keep WR Davante Adams and a franchise tag is expected. pic.twitter.com/5pZtoqx6f0
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 8, 2022
“It’s obviously not what Davante Adams wants,” said Rapoport. “A lot of times it’s not what really any player wants. They’ve tried, without success, to get a long-term deal on Davante Adams. We’ll see where that all stands, but I would expect them…to franchise tag Davante Adams today.”
The 29-year-old is entering his ninth season with the Packers and is coming career-best numbers with 123 receptions and 1,553 receiving yards. He also had 11 touchdowns this past season after scoring a career-high 18 the year prior.
Rodgers made it abundantly clear that he wanted Adams to remain in the fold and it appears he’s gotten what he wanted, even if Adams isn’t going to be happy with the franchise tag.
The news certainly set off a round of reactions from around the NFL regarding how this plays out for the Packers, Adams, and Rodgers. There was also a lot of confusion over how any of this works given the Packers’ salary cap issues.
The next domino falls. This gives the Packers additional time to work out a long-term deal. https://t.co/jXCbIFNUGM
— Paul Bretl (@Paul_Bretl) March 8, 2022
No more house tracking, guys. https://t.co/l0aEuRBTXq
— Tashan Reed (@tashanreed) March 8, 2022
but they just gave Aaron Rodgers all of the money on planet earth and Stephen Jones said that there is only so much pie that you can give to players https://t.co/MHeE3GGsBL
— Blogging The Boys (@BloggingTheBoys) March 8, 2022
The second domino to fall https://t.co/OvPOsP1mjT
— Nicole Menner (@NicoleMenner) March 8, 2022
And there’s the second update. A franchise altering week in many ways. Rodgers and Davante back. https://t.co/WuJAmgY3G8
— Andy Herman (@AndyHermanNFL) March 8, 2022
Much more to come as we wait for the Packers to make the Rodgers and Adams news official. And then we find out how, exactly, the franchise works within the salary cap before launching into what all Green Bay hopes is a much calmer offseason than last year.