Davante Adams‘ national radio appearance on Monday afternoon made headlines, but nothing he said was newsworthy in the grand scheme of things. In fact, it makes perfect sense when you consider how his career has gone and where it might be headed.
Here’s the condensed version: Davante is hopeful that Aaron Rodgers will suit up for the Green Bay Packers this season, but isn’t sure how things will play out.
Uh… isn’t that how just about every Packers fan feels right about now? At least most of the rational ones?
And honestly, what do you expect him to say? Screw that guy, he can leave if he wants to?
Rodgers is still under contract with the Packers, and until that technicality changes, there’s no reason that Adams wouldn’t be “behind him 100%” when it comes to the reigning MVP.
Adams has done a marvelous job throughout his career of developing from a much-maligned rookie wideout to arguably the best receiver in the league. Does that happen without Rodgers as his quarterback? It’s hard to say for sure, but there’s no doubt that playing with him helped elevate Adams’ career to its current prominence.
Adams led the league in a number of meaningful categories last year, notably receiving yards per game (98.1) and receptions per game (8.2), and he hauled in 18 touchdowns despite missing two full games.
He would be an absolute dream for any quarterback to play with. Adams is widely regarded as perhaps the best route-runner in the NFL, creating separation not only at the line of scrimmage but downfield as well. He’s big, physical, catches anything inside the same zip code, and clearly has a nose for the end zone.
If Jordan Love were to be the guy at quarterback for the Packers this fall, there’s no doubt that Adams would be his No. 1 target and a huge factor in Love’s ability to find success. One of the hardest transitions from the collegiate to the professional game is throwing into the tight, sometimes nonexistent windows in the coverage. With Adams, his release and footwork allow him to create distance between him and his defender. Adams also comes with a certain amount of gravity, pulling extra defenders in his direction, which allows ascending weapons like Robert Tonyan, Allen Lazard, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling to have more room to operate.
That being said, the ceiling for the Packers is almost assuredly higher with a 38-year old Rodgers under center, and not the unknown variable that is Love. Adams is entering his eighth season at age 29. He’s an unrestricted free agent with his eyes on what will be his best chance at the mega-contract expected for someone with his skillset.
So for Adams to say that he would have to do some “extra thinking” when it comes to what his tenure would look like in a world that doesn’t feature Aaron Rodgers as Green Bay’s quarterback only makes sense.
Since Adams hasn’t been a wideout who has relied purely on straight-line speed, his abilities as a tactician could allow him to age gracefully as a productive player well into his 30s. Given the way the first eight years of his career have gone, if Rodgers is back with the Packers, Adams should want to be as well. But if Rodgers is gone, why would it be a slam dunk for Davante to come back?
There were a lot of qualifiers in Adams’ interview with Colin Cowherd on Monday. He only “potentially” could be affected, and the “extra thinking” will be because the Packers won’t be his only suitor.
Likewise, Rodgers should want to play with Adams, too. The Packers are loaded on offense, with Davante as the premier talent among the skill position players. It’s clear that Adams has talked to his quarterback, and there’s an understanding as to what Rodgers is thinking. He could have gone on with Cowherd with more of a sales pitch to Rodgers, but that just wasn’t the case. Adams didn’t sound overly worried, at least not yet, and likely knows that the situation just has to play out between the MVP and the front office.
