Packers place franchise tag on All-Pro WR Davante Adams

While speaking at the NFL Scouting Combine last week, Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst suggested that four-time NFL Most Valuable Player Aaron Rodgers and All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams weren't a package deal and that their futures were "separate" matters.  

One has to assume Gutekunst is pleased that's not the case. 

Hours after reports surfaced that the Packers and Rodgers had allegedly agreed to terms on a four-year deal, Green Bay prevented Adams from hitting free agency later this month by using the franchise tag to retain his rights. Per Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk, the 29-year-old would play for $18.419 million for the 2022 season if he doesn't put pen to paper on a long-term contract with the Packers before the July 15 deadline set for signing tagged players. 

Even when it was reported last month that the Packers and Adams hadn't discussed a new deal since the end of this past campaign, it was believed Green Bay could use the franchise tag as a placeholder for future talks. Rodgers took to Twitter Tuesday to claim the reported terms of his new contract are "inaccurate," but it's nevertheless assumed the agreement offers the club some needed salary-cap relief for 2022. 

As for Adams, the two-time First-Team All-Pro finished the 2021 regular season second in the NFL with 123 catches, tied for second with 169 targets, third with 1,553 receiving yards, and fifth with 11 touchdown receptions, per ESPN stats. He said last July he would not take less money to allow the Packers to keep Rodgers, and there's currently no indication he's changed his mind this winter.