Deadline on Adams (and Rodgers) Approaches

The franchise-tag window closes on Tuesday, meaning a key date is coming quickly for the Green Bay Packers and Davante Adams.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – A critical deadline for the Green Bay Packers is quickly approaching.

The Packers have until 3 p.m. Tuesday to use the franchise tag on All-Pro receiver Davante Adams. That transaction almost seems like a formality.

The tag ensures the Packers will retain Adams’ rights, either to buy time to sign the NFL’s premier receiver to a long-term contract extension or to trade him for a first-round pick and (likely) much more.

Left untagged, Adams would be one week from potentially leaving in free agency, in which case the only compensation the Packers would receive would be a third-round compensatory pick in 2023.

As with just about all major business at 1265 Lombardi Ave., the decision on Adams is tied to Aaron Rodgers. According to OverTheCap.com, the Packers are about $26.4 million over the salary cap. They must be in compliance with the $208.2 million cap at the start of the league-year on March 16.

The moment Adams is tagged, that money – $20.1 million, the league announced on Monday – will get dumped on the Packers’ cap. One of the big keys to paying for it will be Rodgers. The four-time MVP quarterback’s cap charge for 2022 is about $46.66 million. If Rodgers wants out, they can trade him and save $19.82 million. If Rodgers wants to continue his pursuit of a second championship in Green Bay, the two sides will agree to a contract extension that will take a significant bite out of the 2022 cap number.

Thus, time is of the essence for Rodgers to give the Packers an answer one way or another.

While Tuesday is a hard deadline for tagging Adams, it is a soft deadline for Rodgers and one he has acknowledged.

“There’s been definitely some contemplative days,” Rodgers said on The Pat McAfee Show on Feb. 22, “but I understand today might be the first day to tag players. In Green Bay, there’s this one specific guy who’s like the best guy in the entire league at what he does, wears like I think No. 17. You might have heard of him. So, there’s obviously the opportunity to tag him at some point, which I don’t think both parties probably want that done; they’d rather get a long-term extension done. But I understand that’s a part of the decision and I talked about not wanting to drag this thing out.”

The Rodgers drama doesn’t necessarily need to come to a conclusion before Tuesday’s tag deadline. “Obviously,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said at the Scouting Combine, “we’d like to know as soon as we can. I think it helps for planning and moving forward.” Tagging Adams and being almost $47 million over the cap on Tuesday doesn’t matter. The real deadline is March 16, when the Packers need to be below the salary cap.

If Rodgers chooses to return to Green Bay with a cap-saving extension, then one of the next orders of business will be hammering out an extension with Adams to, A, ensure he’s here for the long haul and, B, reduce his cap number for the upcoming season.

Late last season, Adams bristled at the prospect of being tagged. So long as the end goal is to give him a contract commensurate with his performance, he’d probably be at least a little more welcoming. No doubt that is something Gutekunst and Adams discussed at the end of the season.

“It’s kind of a last-option type of thing,” Gutekunst said before the Combine. “And then even if we do have to use it, it’s more of a bridge to hopefully an extension down the road. We try to be respectful. I had a very good conversation with Tae before he left about all that stuff. He’s a unique player, unique person, and we’d certainly like to make him a long-term contract offer that works for both sides.”