Coach Matt LaFleur was “hopeful” the Packers could keep Davante Adams. As it turned out, the receiver’s contract demands made what LaFleur called a “tough decision” an easy one.
“Sometimes you’ve got to make some tough decisions,” LaFleur told Tom Pelissero of NFL Media. “Certainly appreciate everything Davante brought to our team. I mean, he is the best receiver in the National Football League, so that was a tough one for me personally and for our organization.”
The Packers used the franchise tag on Adams, but the two-time All-Pro informed them he wouldn’t play on the $20.145 million tag. With the sides far apart in contract talks, Green Bay dealt Adams to the Raiders for first-round (No. 22 overall) and second-round (No. 53) choices in the 2022 draft.
The Raiders signed Adams to a a five-year, $141.25 million deal, a yearly average of $28.25 million.
Now comes the hard for Green Bay: The Packers have to replace Adams’ production only months after Adams set the single-season franchise record for catches (123) and receiving yards (1,553). That will be harder than the decision to trade Adams was.
“Certainly he’s a guy that’s going to be tough to replace and so you never want to let great players like that walk away from your team,” LaFleur said. “But, like I said, it’s just one of those deals where some tough decisions have to be made. Unfortunately, in the National Football League, there’s a thing called the salary cap and you gotta get below that as well. So everything factored into those decisions.”
