Packers Beat Forecasts Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams Playing for Broncos in 2022
Not one, not two, not three ... but four.
That's how many members of the current Packers outfit — players and coaches — could defect to Denver in the days and weeks ahead as Broncos general manager George Paton enacts a far-reaching plan to vault the club into NFL title contention.
The Broncos' interest in Green Bay offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, a finalist for their head-coaching vacancy, is, obviously, well-known. As is their intrigue in future Hall-of-Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers and his positional coach Luke Getsy.
But Packers beat reporters Matt Schneidman of The Athletic and Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated predict the troika becomes a quartet, with Pro Bowl wide receiver Davante Adams following Rodgers and company to Colorado.
"They will trade Rodgers to wherever Nathaniel Hackett's coaching, probably Denver," Huber said on The Head of the Pack podcast after Green Bay's playoff loss to San Francisco. "Adams will go with him because the Broncos have [loads] of cap space."
"I agree," Schneidman echoed. "I would've said both would stay. After last night, I think the Packers trade Rodgers and Adams in a tag-and-trade to the Denver Broncos, who will have Dan Quinn as their head coach and Luke Getsy calling plays. Adams and Rodgers both love Luke Getsy. So we'll see what happens there."
The idea of acquiring Rodgers and Adams seems farfetched on the surface, but the motive behind such a blockbuster — money — makes it a tad more plausible. The Broncos enter the 2022 offseason with the seventh-flushest salary-cap situation, about $42 million under the cap.
The Packers, by contrast, are roughly $40 million over the cap, all the while several key players are set to hit the open market. Ballooning the issue are Rodgers' $46.6 million cap figure for his age-39 campaign and the likelihood that Adams signs one of, if not the richest WR contract in league history.
With a little finessing and unblinkable want-to, Denver can absorb Rodgers and Adams on its payroll, unlike many other prospective suitors.
But it's going to cost them.
A lot ...
"I think the Packers could get four first-round picks, two second-round picks, and a player or two for Rodgers and Adams," Schneidman speculated.
... probably too much for Paton, in the interest of realism.
Whether or not Adams tags along remains to be seen; he'd join an already-crowded receiving corps alongside Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick, both of whom landed lucrative extensions during the 2021 regular season.
“It won't be the be-all and end-all, but it'll definitely be something I'm monitoring," Adams said of Rodgers' future.
But the Broncos are viewed through non-local lenses as a QB away from competing for a Super Bowl. It isn't complete fantasy that Rodgers, who refuses to take part in a rebuild, winds up in a package deal of some sort should Denver hire either Hackett or Getsy.
Such is where the wind's blowing.
"The Broncos are a pretty good football team, and they curiously drafted a defensive back last year when they could have drafted a quarterback," Huber noted. "I just think all along the Broncos have been betting on getting Rodgers. And that's the plan."
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