Packers Trade Davante Adams in Stunning Blockbuster

Aaron Rodgers is back but without his right-hand man as the Packers traded Davante Adams to the Raiders on Thursday night.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – In a stunning trade for the Green Bay Packers’ Super Bowl aspirations, the team traded All-Pro receiver Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday night.

The Packers will get two draft picks in return: The Raiders’ first-round pick at No. 22 and their second-round choice at No. 53. Along with Green Bay’s choices at No. 28 and No. 59, the Packers are slated to have four of the top 59 selections.

How the Packers – and quarterback Aaron Rodgers, specifically – will adjust without the game’s dominant receiver is the mystery. As it stands, the Packers’ main receivers under contract are Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb and Amari Rodgers. Perhaps the Packers can land a veteran in free agency; Adams cost $20.1 million under the franchise tag, so they will have the cap space. Perhaps they can land an instant-impact stud in the first round. Perhaps they can re-sign tight end Robert Tonyan, and he can return to form following last year’s torn ACL. Perhaps all of the above can happen.

What can’t be replaced is Rodgers’ otherworldly connection with Adams. Rodgers has chemistry with Lazard and Cobb but nothing that compares with the unspoken bond he had with Rodgers.

“I told him in the locker room, the thing that I will miss 20 years down the line is moments where you make a subtle adjustment, you look over at the guy and it’s a stud like 17 and he just went like this (head nod),” Rodgers said after a victory at Chicago game that was highlighted by a key 41-yard pass. “Like the whole body started tingling. I just knew it was going to be one of those special plays.”

Adams is a face-of-the-franchise type of player. In a perfect world, you want your absolute best players to dominate with production, lead with presence and generally do everything on and off the field the right way. That was Adams.

Adams, of course, won with his dominant route-running, underrated athleticism and excellent hands. But he had an unquenchable thirst to dominate anyone and everyone who dared cover him.

“I look at it everybody like a rival,” he said before an October game vs. Chicago. “It means something to me because I know how much it means to this organization. I hate everybody that I play against. So, when I’m going out there, I’m going to try to – like I said last week, I’m going to go out there and try to murder you with every opportunity that I can. They’ll get the same treatment just like last week. It’s the same thing in my head. It’s an age-old rivalry and it means a lot to this town and really to football. It’s important that we add another one in our column over here.”

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, when the offense really took off. Everyone in the stadium knew where Rodgers wanted to fire the football and it usually didn’t matter.

According to Pro Football Focus, 91 receivers were targeted at least 49 times. Adams ranked 13th in catch rate, third in yards per route (2.92), 18th in drop rate (four drops; 3.1 percent) and 15th in passer rating (114.5). Adams wanted to be more of a force after the catch, so he forced 13 missed tackles compared to only four in 2020 and 15 the previous three seasons combined. He also tied for fifth with 12 receptions on passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield.

When Aaron Rodgers calls Adams a future Hall of Famer, he’s not kidding. 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).

“When you start stacking up the numbers for Davante, it’s mind-blowing,” Rodgers said after breaking Brett Favre’s record for most touchdown passes in Packers history in the game against Cleveland. “I really feel like he’s the best player I’ve played with, and I said that to him the other night, actually. I was just thinking about him and having a lot of gratitude for our friendship and the fact I get to play with him for so many years now. I just felt like I wanted to tell him that because it’s true.”

With overwhelming dominance, Adams entered free agency wanting to be the NFL’s highest-paid receiver. By annual salary that’s Arizona’s DeAndre Hopkins at $27.25 million, a contract that was $5 million more than any other receiver. Adams predictably bristled at getting the franchise tag, reportedly saying he wouldn’t play under it.

As it turns out, it wasn’t a bluff. And that he recently bought a house in suburban Las Vegas wasn’t just a random purchase in a glitzy city.

Adams signed a five-year, $141.25 million contract. That’s $28.25 million per season, making him the highest-paid receiver in the NFL. It was a price the Packers reportedly were willing to play, though who knows how that was structured for a receiver who will turn 30 on Christmas Eve.

Adams also is reunited with his quarterback from Fresno State, Derek Carr, who had made no secret his desire to play with Adams again. The trade makes the AFC West an incredible juggernaut featuring the Raiders' Carr, the Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes, the Chargers' Justin Herbert and the Broncos' Russell Wilson as the quarterbacks.

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