The Packers Believe They Can Keep Aaron Rodgers *AND* Davante Adams, But We Know It’ll Cost Them
Apparently, the Green Bay Packers are willing to go for broke this offseason.
They want quarterback Aaron Rodgers back (we all saw Jordan Love’s debut). And they want to retain the services of star receiver Davante Adams. But keeping both while filling up the rest of roster with a good enough supporting cast is going to be an enormous challenge with respect to the cap. Both now and in the future.
But the Packers are evidently willing to bite the bullet; GM Brian Gutekunst believes the team can make just enough moves to keep both guys around *and* make them happy with the pieces that surround them.
Gutey said the Packers can keep Rodgers and Adams while also keeping the team competitive with other pieces despite their cap issues.
"I feel very confident about that." https://t.co/NpZou0VYEL
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) February 23, 2022
Fortune favors the bold, but there is considerable risk in the Packers plan.
In short, Green Bay figures to copycat what the Saints did in the late stages of Drew Brees’ career. That’s when New Orleans would give Brees high-value extensions after each offseason, tacking on void years in the process, and spreading signing bonus money over future years. Kicking the can down the road in this way sure makes the salary cap look like a myth. But Brees was cashing checks and the Saints were staying competitive. In other words, this can work (to an extent). But it comes at a price.
Consider this the first domino to fall:
The Packers have created $10.892M in 2022 cap space by restructuring the contract of NT Kenny Clark, per source.
Green Bay converted $13.615 of Clark’s 2022 compensation into a signing bonus and added two void years to his deal.
Chipping away to create some space…
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) February 23, 2022
Kenny Clark's new contract restructure:
🔹2022 cap reduced $10.892M
🔹Added 2 void years
🔹Now the current dead cap leader at $28.615M pic.twitter.com/OG9Y7mt0ha— Ken Ingalls – Packers Cap 💰 (@KenIngalls) February 23, 2022
“That’s a problem for future Homer. Boy, I don’t envy that guy”
The Saints bent over backward to stretch the end of the Brees era (and, again, it was hardly a disaster), but it eventually caught up with them. And that is what the Packers are on the brink of doing in Green Bay.
Look at New Orleans. The team enters this offseason with a gaping hole at quarterback and no heir apparent on the roster. Former Head Coach Sean Payton walked away from at least $45 million in a contract that was paying him through 2024 in what is either the start of a retirement or a bridge year to his next coaching gig. And the team is more than $70 million over the cap, per OverTheCap.com’s calculations. The Packers were $50 million over the cap at the outset of the offseason, but still have optimism that there is a path to getting out of the red. And there very well could be. Because, again, the Saints have proven the cap is essentially a myth. Although, it is one where the bill eventually comes for someone.
