Packers Could Spend on Re-Signings Rather Than Additions

Trading Davante Adams pushed the Green Bay Packers to more than $22 million of available cap space.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – With Davante Adams officially traded to the Las Vegas Raiders on Friday, the Green Bay Packers suddenly have a bit more than $22 million at their disposal to round out their roster.

They can’t spend it all. They’ve got to tuck away some money to handle the draft class, which got more expensive with the first- and second-round picks sent from Las Vegas, and money is required for in-season transactions. Still, general manager Brian Gutekunst has the money to make at least a couple moves.

Given his history of signing his own players rather than looking to the outside – that’s all he did last offseason and all he’s done this offseason – reunions with cornerback Rasul Douglas and receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling might be the most prominent names on his shopping lists.

While a bit of a one-trick pony as a deep threat, Valdes-Scantling might be the best of what’s left of what had been a weak class of free-agent receivers. Odell Beckham Jr. is coming off a torn ACL, Julio Jones has played in only 19 of a possible 33 games the past two seasons, Jarvis Landry is coming off a pair of down seasons and Will Fuller’s availability is always in question.

Valdes-Scantling, meanwhile, is only 27 and coming off a down season after missing six games due to injuries – the first time he had been sidelined in his four seasons.

After leading the NFL with a 20.9-yard average in 2020 and a big-time training camp this past summer, expectations were high entering the 2021 season. However, he caught 26-of-55 passes (47.3 percent) for 430 yards (16.5 average) and three touchdowns. According to PFF, he had zero drops but also didn’t break any tackles.

With elite size and speed, Valdes-Scantling’s niche is as a deep threat. On passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield, he caught only 6-of-22 (27.3 percent) with one touchdown compared to 9-of-30 (30.0 percent) and five touchdowns in 2020, according to PFF. For whatever reason, Aaron Rodgers never quite got dialed in to MVS’s game-breaking speed. But that speed must be accounted for at all times, which would open room for Allen Lazard and whoever else is running routes.

“What he’s able to do with his size and speed, the pressure he can put on defenses, if they don’t want to respect it, you can see he can make you pay for it down the field vertically,” Adams said in November. “He’s a guy that may slip between the cracks because he’s not getting 10 targets a game or he may go a couple games every few weeks with just like one catch or two catches, but you can see he definitely has it. If you want to disrespect it, you can go right ahead and he’ll just run by you and make plays like what he did last week.”

Douglas changed the story of his NFL career with a sensational two-thirds of a season. Having gone unsigned after 14 games (11 starts) in Carolina and failing to make the rosters in Las Vegas and Houston during training camp, Douglas signed to Arizona’s practice squad. His career was admittedly going nowhere when the Packers – needing cornerback help after Jaire Alexander’s shoulder injury – signed him on Oct. 6.

Douglas wound up with five interceptions to rank among the league leaders. Four of them were huge. His end-zone interception saved a victory at Arizona. His pick-sixes helped power home victories over Los Angeles and Chicago. And his late interception thwarted Cleveland’s potential game-winning drive on Christmas.

“Blessed. Blessed. Blessed, man,” Douglas said after the Arizona game. “You’re in a crazy mental state being in the league five years, never been on a practice squad before. And then one day, you’re just on a practice squad, you feel like you’re working for nothing, and then you get a call and you’re somewhere else, and you’re playing. So, I’m just thankful.”

So were the Packers, who finished ninth in opponent passer rating en route to earning the No. 1 seed.

“What a great story,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said after the Arizona game. “How special is this game? Guy’s on the street, comes in, starts for us, finishes the game out for us. Amazing.”

A potential cornerback trio of Alexander, Douglas and Eric Stokes, combined with the safety duo of Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage, could be as good as it gets in the NFL. The Packers had that group available for only a smattering snaps in the playoff game.

“Rasul, one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen,” Stokes said after the season. “Out of him, Ja, those are two of the hardest workers as a DB that I’ve ever seen. Having ‘Sul, having his knowledge, having his everything that he goes through and everything that he sees and all that stuff, just having that this year was tremendous. That’s what a lot of people don’t know is his off-the-field stuff, his leadership, all that stuff that people don’t see, he’s the real deal, true competitor. He’s got the dog. A lot of people don’t have dog, and he’s one of those guys that got dog in him. It’s completely different. I absolutely commend him for everything that he did for us and all that stuff. Beyond proud of everything that ‘Sul done did this year.”

More on Trade of Davante Adams

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With money to spend, Rasul Douglas reportedly will re-sign

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Davante Adams and Aaron Rodgers

Here's a look at Davante Adams and Aaron Rodgers, who were brilliant together the past eight seasons, through the lenses of USA Today's Imagn photo service.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) celebrates a touchdown connection with Davante Adams (17) late in the first quarter of their game against San Francisco on Oct. 15, 2018, at Lambeau Field. Adams finished the season with 111 receptions for 1,386 yards and 13 touchdowns. Those all set career highs, and it was his first season of 100 receptions and 1,000 yards. (Dan Powers/USA TODAY)

Nov 25, 2018; Minneapolis, MN, USA;

Adams and Rodgers celebrate a touchdown at the Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 25, 2018. Adams' 13 touchdowns are the most against the Vikings in their history. (Brad Rempel/USA TODAY)

Rodgers and Adams celebrate a touchdown pass together on Dec. 6, 2020, at Lambeau Field. Rodgers became the seventh quarterback in NFL history to throw 400 career touchdown passes. (Dan Powers/USA TODAY)

“Those are fun milestones,” Rodgers said. “I’m not sure how long I’m going to be able to hold on to the second one. There’s some really good young quarterbacks who I’m guessing are amassing some numbers in that vicinity.” (Benny Sieu/USA TODAY)

It marked the seventh consecutive game with a touchdown catch for Adams, tying Hall of Famer Don Hutson’s franchise record. “To be breaking or tying records that have been around for 60-70 years, it’s special, man,” Adams said. “I’m just trying to play ball. I’m just trying to do whatever it takes to win these games.” (Benny Sieu/USA TODAY)

Rodgers and Adams celebrate a touchdown during a victory at Detroit on Dec. 13, 2020. Adams led the NFL with 18 touchdown catches in 2020. (Raj Mehta/USA TODAY)

Arm-in-arm, Rodgers and Adams walk off the field after a fourth-quarter touchdown at Chicago in the 2020 finale. Adams wound up leading the NFL in receptions per game, yards per game and touchdowns per game. Adams' 10 career touchdowns vs. Chicago is only one off the record vs. the Bears, held by Billy Howton and Calvin Johnson. (Dan Powers/USA TODAY)

Adams is the height of fashion as he walks off the field following the Packers' victory over the Lions at Lambeau Field on Sept. 20, 2021. Dan Powers/USA TODAY)

Rodgers and Adams are all smiles after rallying past the Lions in Week 2, a season-altering victory following a dismal Week 1 game vs. New Orleans and a poor first half against Detroit. Adams caught eight passes for 121 yards, one of his eight 100-yard games last season. (Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY)

Rodgers and Adams embrace after a touchdown against Chicago on Dec. 12. Adams scored two touchdowns in the game. (Benny Sieu/USA TODAY)

Davante Adams caught 10 passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns during that victory over Chicago. (Dan Powers/USA TODAY).

Rodgers and Adams react after a touchdown connection during the Dec. 19 victory at Baltimore. Adams was limited to six receptions for 44 yards against a defense called "17 Bulldog" in which the Ravens at times used three defenders on Adams. “It’s a sign of respect, but it definitely was annoying,” Adams said. “So, hopefully, it doesn’t happen too much moving forward.” (Tommy Gilligan/USA TODAY)

Rodgers and Adams celebrate a second-quarter touchdown against the Cleveland Browns on Christmas at Lambeau Field. Rodgers and Adams connected for their 66th and 67th touchdowns that day, breaking the Rodgers-to-Jordy Nelson record as the most prolific duo in Packers history.

“He’s a fantastic player. He gives you so many great plays during a game,” Rodgers said that night. “On the touchdown to break the record, his was a really freelance route. That’s what makes him so great is his creativity within the system. When I looked over at him on the left, I was almost going to give him a signal to make sure we are on the same page, but something – intuition, whatever – said don’t do it. Just trust it. And he didn’t do what basically is on-the-paper football offense. He lost his guy quickly and they brought empty pressure. He did exactly what I would have wanted to tell him but there wasn’t even a signal that could’ve even come close to the beauty and the creativity of that route. It’s one of those fun moments.”

(Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY)

“It caught me off-guard when he texted me that the other day,” Adams said a couple days later of Rodgers' words, “because I feel like what we don’t do enough as men in general is express the way we feel about one another or about the way he feels, whether it’s good or bad. So, to hear something like that out of the blue – there was no conversation that led up to it or anything like that, it was just strictly from his heart, something he was thinking about – it means a lot to me as a player.”

(Dan Powers/USA TODAY)

In 2021, Adams set franchise records with 123 receptions for 1,553 yards (12.6 average). Eight of his 11 touchdowns came during the final seven games.

Over the last six seasons, Adams ranks No. 1 among receivers with 581 receptions (31 more than DeAndre Hopkins), 7,192 receiving yards (63 more than Julio Jones) and 69 touchdowns (nine more than Mike Evans).

And now, it's off to Las Vegas, where he will make new memories alongside his former college quarterback, Derek Carr.

(Jeffrey Becker/USA TODAY)