Leaving For Las Vegas
In one of the biggest trades in recent franchise history, the Green Bay Packers sent two-time All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday night in exchange for first and second-round picks in next month’s draft.
Green Bay had been trying to sign Adams to an extension since last spring, but the two sides couldn’t agree on terms. While general manager Brian Gutekunst was always willing to make the former Fresno State star the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL, he wasn’t willing to eclipse the $27.25 million per year Arizona is paying DeAndre Hopkins. That’s what Adams and his representatives considered to be the top contract. However, Gutekunst viewed Hopkins’ average as closer to $20 million per year since his deal was actually an extension. Along with most of the rest of the teams in the league, the Packers recognized former Falcon and Titan Julio Jones as the highest-paid receiver at $22 million per year.
Adams grew increasingly frustrated by the lack of progress on a new contract, and his frustration apparently boiled over after the Packers placed the franchise tag on him last week. He vowed not to play on the tag and began letting it be known that he wanted out of Green Bay. His friend and former teammate James Jones hinted at this just hours before the trade.
Now that Adams is gone, Gutekunst will need to completely rebuild the wide receiver room. The only players left on the roster with NFL experience are 32-year-old Randall Cobb, journeyman David Moore, and unproven youngsters Amari Rodgers, Juwann Winfree, Josh Malone, Rico Gafford, and Chris Blair, although restricted free agent Allen Lazard is expected to return. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see some of the $20 million of cap room created by the trade of Adams used to bring back unrestricted free agent Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who averaged over 16 yards on 26 catches last season.
Even with the return of Lazard and possibly Valdes-Scantling, the Packers would still be without anything resembling a true No. 1 wide receiver. That player would have to arrive either in the draft or through a trade because with Allen Robinson no longer available – he signed with the Rams on Thursday morning – there ian’t an elite receiver left in free agency. Cleveland’s Jarvis Landry and Pittsburgh’s JuJu Smith-Schuster are probably the cream of the crop, but they are more No. 2s than No. 1s. The best of the rest are Jones, Miami’s Will Fuller, Buffalo’s Cole Beasley, and the Jets’ Jamison Crowder. The Rams’ Odell Beckham Jr. is another possibility, but a serious knee injury will likely keep him out until at least November.
It’s fair to wonder why the Packers didn’t make this trade earlier. Five days ago, Dallas’ Amari Cooper was available for a late-round pick, and Chicago’s Robinson and Jacksonville’s D.J. Chark had yet to hit the open market. Now, Cooper is in Cleveland, Chalk is in Detroit, Robinson, as mentioned earlier is in Los Angeles, and Gutekunst, well, he’s in a bit of a pickel.
Fortunately, next months’ draft is loaded with talented wide receivers. Ohio State’s Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave, Arkansas’ Treylon Burks, Alabama’s Jameson Williams, and USC’s Drake London are all projected to go in the first round. And there’s enough depth at the position to expect numerous future NFL starters to be picked through round four. While the Packers haven’t drafted a wide receiver in the first round since 2002, that’s very likely to change in six weeks.
While I’ve been advocating to trade Adams for months and believe the Packers got tremendous value in return, it’s still hard to feel great about this move for one big reason. Why go “all-in” with quarterback Aaron Rodgers only to send away his favorite target? Gutekunst passed on the opportunity to trade Rodgers to Denver for multiple high draft picks because he wanted to make another couple of runs at the Super Bowl, and those runs would’ve been easier to make with Adams.
Without Adams, Gutekunst will need to have a great next six weeks if the Packers are to have any chance of getting through a very tough NFC next January. He needs to re-sign corner Rasul Douglas and tight end Robert Tonyan, sign or trade for a proven No. 2 wide receiver, and have an outstanding draft. With four picks in the top 59, he should be able to add immediate starters at wide receiver and defensive end, along with key backups at outside linebacker and offensive tackle.
Until last night, there appeared to be only two possible doors for Green Bay to open. Door A was keeping both Rodgers and Adams and going after another Super Bowl, and door B was trading both Rodgers and Adams and beginning a total rebuild. But Gutekunst, along with team president and CEO Mark Murphy, wound up choosing door C. Perhaps it’ll all work out and the Packers will still capture that elusive fifth Lombardi Trophy before Rodgers finally calls it a career, the dead money hits, and hard times inevitably begin, but that seems a little less likely now than it did a mere 12 hours ago.
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