Report: Packers preparing to put franchise tag on Davante Adams

Adams, 29, is playing out the final year of the four-year, $58M extension he signed in December 2017. That proved to be a terrific investment for the Packers, and given the success that Adams has enjoyed over the life of that contract he is now setting his sights even higher. He wants to be the highest-paid receiver in football, which, in terms of AAV, would mean a deal worth upwards of $27M per season. The franchise tag, meanwhile, will cost about $20M.

Once the season is over, Green Bay will have a great deal of work to do just to get under the salary cap, and carrying a $20M charge on the books for an Adams tag will be challenging. A long-term contract would of course help to limit Adams’ 2022 cap hit, but it will be interesting to see if Adams even wants such a contract from the Packers at this point. 

Though he said that the club’s plans vis-a-vis Aaron Rodgers will not be the “end-all, be-all” in terms of his own future in Wisconsin, he did concede that Rodgers’ status will be a key consideration for him. And if the Packers move on from their franchise signal-caller — Rapoport suggests that there will be a resolution in that regard fairly early in the offseason — Adams may not want to stick around for the long haul.

Indeed, after Adams broke off contract talks in July, he did not, according to Rapoport, try to reopen them (even though he was reportedly happy to consider any pitches the team wished to make). If the Packers are willing to give him the record-breaking deal he wants, he might be hard-pressed to turn it down, regardless of what the club’s QB situation looks like. But if Green Bay parts way with Rodgers and does not break the bank for Adams, the Fresno State product might risk a statistical downturn in 2022 in the hopes of hitting the open market in 2023.

Rapoport also passes along an update on Rodgers. He confirms that retaining their three-time MVP is the Packers’ top priority, and the front office is hopeful that the regular conversations it has had with him has gotten the relationship to a point where Rodgers will want to stay (video link).