For the first time since consummating the blockbuster trade of Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders, Green Bay Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst talked publicly about the decision at the NFL Owners meetings in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida on Monday.
By failing to reach a long term contract extension with one of the most prolific wide receivers in franchise history in advance of his contract coming due, Gutekunst found himself in the unenviable position of seeing Adams reach free agency this off-season. To protect the team in the hopes of still finalizing a long term deal, Gutekunst applied the 20.1 million dollar franchise tag on Adams in early March. That didn’t set well with the unanimous first team All-Pro who shattered the franchise single season records for receptions, yards and touchdowns over the past two years. As it turned out, Adams was also unhappy over playing in Green Bay regardless in 2022 and beyond. He made it known after the season ended that he wanted to play for the Raiders, a team he grew up in East Palo Alto, California, rooting for. Adams also wanted to be reunited with his Fresno State college quarterback in Derek Carr.
Gutekunst spoke with reporters for nearly 20 minutes Monday afternoon and came to the conclusion there was little chance Adams would be back on his team regardless of the financial investment they were willing to make, reportedly close to the five year, 141 million dollar deal he signed after getting his wish, a trade to the Raiders for the first and second round Las Vegas picks in this year’s draft.
Gutekunst said Aaron Rodgers was aware and kept abreast of the trade discussions, even as he agreed to return to the Packers with a new, five year, 185 million dollar contract, one Gutekunst hopes will have Rodgers retire as a Packer.
By moving Adams and recouping the 20 million dollar franchise tag cost, Gutekunst was able to re-sign key defensive free agents De’Vondre Campbell and Rasul Douglas. He has since changed punters, letting Corey Bojoquez walk and signed former Bear Pat O’Donnell along with bringing in former Seattle and Kansas City defensive tackle Jarran Reed.
Gutekunst also talked about the decision to break up the Smith brothers. Preston Smith is coming back on a new contract extension while Za’Darius Smith was let loose, eventually signing with division rival Minnesota. The GM said that was another tough call but one that was salary cap driven. Za’Darius Smith would have taken on a more than 26 million dollar cap hit without a major restructuring of his contract. Gutekunst said the resurgent play of Preston Smith and the emergence of Rashan Gary at edge rusher will help mitigate the loss.
Gutekunst stressed he still feels confident with his roster even without Adams and there’s plenty of time to continue building a competitive team around the best quarterback in the game.
The roster construction will renew in earnest with next month’s draft, coincidentally, in Las Vegas.
NFL owners have now set the locations for the next two drafts. Kansas City was announced earlier this month and on Monday, owners selected Detroit as the host for the 2024 draft, beating out bids from Green Bay and Washington. The Packers were hopeful with a new Resch Expo Center up and running across the street from Lambeau Field, the league would consider having Green Bay host the biggest off-season event of the year. The Lions got the nod however.
Packer President and CEO Mark Murphy expressed his disappointment over the decision but said the organization and local groups will continue to press their case with the league and hope it can be awarded the host site in the future.
