Green Bay Packers Window to Franchise Tag Davante Adams Opens Tuesday
By Paul Bretl
The window for NFL teams to utilize the franchise tag on a player with an expiring contract opens on Tuesday, February 22nd, and runs through March 8th. For the Green Bay Packers, all eyes will be on Davante Adams.
2021 was the final year of Adams’ previous deal, and so far, the two sides have been unable to come to any agreements on a new contract. Reportedly, Adams is looking for $30 million per year, while the Green Bay Packers are in the $23-$25 million range.
There are likely several reasons why the two sides have been unable to come to terms, but I’m guessing the biggest reason is each party defines who the highest-paid receiver in football is differently.
In short, Adams may be looking at the two-year $27.25 million per year deal that DeAndre Hopkins signed with Arizona as the benchmark, while the Packers could be looking at Julio Jones’ deal, which averaged out to $22 million per year over four years. To read more about this specific topic, click here.
As recently as Tuesday, Tom Silverstein reported that the Packers and Adams still haven’t restarted contract negotiations since the season came to an abrupt end.
Adams is certainly more than deserving of being the highest-paid receiver in football. He is coming off back-to-back All-Pro seasons in which he led the NFL in touchdowns in 2020 with 18 as well as in yards per game with 98.1, along with 1,374 total yards. This past season, Adams logged 1,553 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns while setting single-season team records in yards and receptions.
Will the Green Bay Packers use the franchise tag on Davante Adams?
Although utilizing the franchise tag would go against the norm for the Packers, it does seem like there is a very real possibility that Green Bay could apply the franchise tag to Adams for two specific reasons.
One is that it will give the two sides more time to negotiate an extension beyond when free agency opens in mid-March and prevents Adams from officially become an unrestricted free agent. On top of that, if they can’t come to an agreement, it allows the Packers to trade Adams and get something in return, rather than letting him walk for nothing.
Now, if this is the case, and Green Bay does franchise tag Adams, I can’t imagine a world where he plays 2022 on that deal. For starters, Adams won’t want to, and secondly, with a cap hit of about $20 million this season, I’m not sure Green Bay can make that work financially.
The caveat to all of this is that the $20 million franchise tag will be added to the salary cap and that additional cap space will have to be cleared as well prior to the new league year in order to make room for the contract. According to Over the Cap, and before any potential move, the Packers are projected to be $50.7 million over the 2022 salary cap.
The opening of the franchise tag window also means that a decision from Aaron Rodgers could be happening soon as well. During his last appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers mentioned that it would be around this time that he announces what he will be doing this upcoming season so that Green Bay could plan accordingly before free agency begins in March.
Regardless of what the moves end up being this offseason, there are going to be quite a few of them made by the Green Bay Packers—with placing the franchise tag on Adams being one of the first potential ones to take place.
I tend to think that Green Bay will use the tag on Adams for the reasons mentioned above—I just find it hard to believe they would let him hit free agency without either trying to buy more time to get a deal done or to get something in return via trade. Adams is a potential future Hall of Famer, and the Packers typically prioritize these players.