Aaron Rodgers was quick to take to Twitter to quibble with details regarding his return to the Packers. He has been silent, so far, regarding the departure of his most important teammate, receiver Davante Adams.
In the wake of the trade, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reported that Rodgers “was aware of the developments with Adams as they unfolded in recent days.”
It would be very interesting to know whether Rodgers knew about any of this before putting pen to paper on Monday for his new contract, and whether and to what extent Aaron Rodgers got involved in trying to keep Adams in Green Bay.
If Rodgers had known Adams would be leaving, would that have changed the quarterback’s mind? If Rodgers personally appealed to Adams to stay, why did Adams decline to stick around?
Adams’s agents went on record to say that the Packers offered more money than the Raiders offered Adams, but that it was the player’s lifelong dream to play for the Raiders. They did not comment on whether the Raiders’ offer includes fully guaranteed money beyond the first year of the deal (it likely did) or whether the Packers’ offer didn’t include fully guaranteed money beyond the first year of the deal (it likely didn’t). They also did not comment on whether Adams would have accepted the offer from the Packers if it had come weeks or months earlier.
Also, if it truly were Adams’s lifelong dream to play for the Raiders, why did Adams sign a new contract four years ago before the Packers had to decide whether to use the franchise tag on him? If they hadn’t tagged Adams in early 2018, he could have signed with the Raiders then. If they had, he could have tried to force his way out four years ago, the same way he did now. (Before you scoff and say it wouldn’t have worked then, it worked now.)
There’s much more to this one than has surfaced. Tom Brady has successfully recruited and persuaded several key players to stay in Tampa. Aaron Rodgers either didn’t try or he spectacularly failed to keep the best player not named Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay.
Would Adams leaving have been enough to make Rodgers want out, too? Did Rodgers incorrectly presume that, if he returns, Adams would stay?
I raise these questions for a few simple reasons. There’s a chance that Adams preferred reuniting with college teammate Derek Carr than staying with his eight-year NFL teammate. There’s a chance that Rodgers had no idea that Adams would ever feel that way. And so there’s a chance that, in the aftermath of Thursday’s news, Rodgers is dealing with one of the biggest and most unexpected slaps in the face that he ever has endured.