The Day That Davante Adams Was Traded Changed Everything
How the Packers Have Filled The Hole Davante Adams Left
It was March 17th. Just three days earlier Davante Adams informed the Green Bay Packers that he would not be playing on the franchise tag.
At this point I wasn’t worried. I assumed that Davante was doing his best to get the biggest contract possible and the Packers were doing their best to get the best deal possible. I thought that everything would get figured out by the time the season started. I hadn’t even imagined a world where Davante Adams wasn’t playing in Green Bay in 2022. Little did I know what was about to happen.
It was 7pm. I had just finished working for the day when I looked down at my phone and saw a notification from Adam Schefter. It read,” BLOCKBUSTER: Packers are trading Pro-Bowl WR Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders for two prime 2022 picks, league sources tell ESPN.”
WHAT?!?! I didn’t think it was real. I opened twitter and frantically checked to see if it was one of those parody accounts that posts fake headlines to mess with people.
It was real.
How could this be?? Were the Packers not willing to pay Davante what he thought he deserved? Was Davante upset with Green Bay enough to want out? These were the first questions running through my head.
Davante Adams was drafted by the Packers in the 2nd round of the 2014 NFL draft. He experienced lots of ups and downs his first couple seasons but burst onto the scene in 2016 racking up 997 yards and 12 touchdowns. The rest is history. Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams became one of the most feared QB-WR duos in the NFL.
This is why the move was so shocking. Why would Davante want to leave behind a future hall of famer in Aaron Rodgers? Was it about the money?
News later came out that the Packers actually offered Davante more than the Raiders so it clearly wasn’t about the money. In a press conference a week or so later Davante described why he decided to leave Green Bay. He wanted to reunite with his former college QB Derek Carr, wanted to be closer to family, and he stated that he didn’t know how much longer Aaron Rodgers was going to play.
This made sense to me. Davante Adams wanted a fresh start in a new place and with the uncertainty of Aaron Rodgers future, he didn’t want to be left in the dust after signing a new long term deal with the packers.
Now the question was how are the Packers going to replace one of the best wide receivers in the NFL?
Enter Brian Gutekunst. The man that I have learned to never doubt. He always finds a way. All you have to do is look at the signings of Rasul Douglas and De’vondre Campbell last year. Two relatively unknown players become HUGE cornerstones on this Packers defense.
His first order of business: sign Sammy Watkins. An older player who hasn’t produced or stayed consistently healthy in a long time but may still have some gas left in the tank. The Packers signed him for a lowly 1 year deal worth up to 4 million dollars largely based on incentives. A very low risk high reward signing. I’ll take it.
Next order of business: The NFL Draft. Even though I almost lost it the second Davante got traded, I was not disappointed in what we got in return. A 1st and 2nd round draft pick. That’s huge. This made the draft that much more exciting with the packers having a whopping four draft picks in the first 2 rounds.
Draft night came and many Packers fans (including myself) expected the Packers to come out of the first round with a new wide receiver. There was a thought in the back of my mind that they may pass on a wide receiver in round 1 because history has shown us that they don’t draft receivers in the first round. The streak continued. Green Bay left the first round with two athletic defensive studs from Georgia: linebacker Quay Walker and defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt.
Even though we did not come out of round 1 with a wideout I kept my cool. As I said, I trust Brian Gutekunst. He is the GM and his livelihood relies on making smart decisions so I assumed he knew what he was doing. Round 2 begins. I’m sitting on my couch thinking that I will have to wait a long while to see the Packers next draft selections considering our picks were at the end of the second round. Out of nowhere an alert comes across the TV that the Packers have traded their two second round draft picks with the Viking to move up to pick 34.
My heart was racing. Surely we traded up to draft a wide receiver right?? “With the 34th pick in the 2022 NFL draft the Green Bay Packers select Christian Watson, wide receiver North Dakota State.” THANK YOU BRIAN! Not only did we draft a receiver but we drafted one of the most exciting athletic receivers in the draft (in my opinion).
We ended up leaving the draft with not just one receiver but three. The Packers drafted Romeo Doubs in the 4th and Samori Toure in the 7th. With the loss of Davante just a month or so earlier, the Packers knew that they needed to give Aaron Rodgers more weapons.
As I am writing this we are now only one month away from the start of the regular season. The Packers are about to play their first pre-season game of the year. There are still lots of questions as to how this offense is going to look without Davante Adams and which wide receivers will step up to fill the hole that he left. Will Allen Lazard step into the WR 1 role and become the player many think he can? Will Sammy Watkins stay healthy and reignite his career? Will training camp standout Romeo Doubs be able to carry over his success to the regular season?
Right now all we can do is speculate. There is hope in the air in Green Bay and a belief that the Packers will find a way. Remember that guy named Aaron Rodgers? I think we will be A-O-K.