Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers revealed that his decision to stay or leave Green Bay primarily depends on what Davante Adams will do.
Aaron Rodgers has made it clear that if he’s going to have a future in Green Bay, Davante Adams must be a part of that.
While he’s long been a strong advocate for his favorite receiver, Rodgers made it clear just how far the loyalty goes.
If Adams doesn’t stay with the Green Bay Packers, neither will Rodgers. But if Adams does choose to stay, there’s a strong chance Rodgers will remain as well.
The two have almost two months to decide their fates and the fate of the franchise, as Rodgers expects to have a final answer by the time free agency starts on March 16.
“I’d like to be respectful of the organization,” Rodgers said Tuesday on The Pat McAfee Show. “One decision that will be upcoming will be obviously Davante and his future with the team. There still is this thing called a franchise tag, which I don’t think ’17’ wants the franchise.
“I think that should be enough time to make a decision by then. I don’t want to put myself on a specific date, but I do want to be sensitive to Davante and many other guys who have decisions to make on their own futures. To drag it out past free agency would be disrespectful to the organization and to those guys, and that 100 percent will not happen.”
Aaron Rodgers bases return to Green Bay on presence of Davante Adams
Adams, who will be a free agent entering the 2022 offseason, is coming off a four-year, $58 million contract. If the organization did decide to franchise tag him, it would cost about $20 million for the season. The Packers are already $44.8 million over the cap, and that’s without an Adams deal.
Normally, the Packers might want to franchise tag Adams because the future is now uncertain in Green Bay. If their franchise quarterback leaves or retires, even in 2023, the Packers could be locked into an expensive contract with Adams without any quarterback to throw to him.
Rodgers said that any of these three options — staying in Green Bay, leaving for another team, retirement — remain on the table. Whatever he and Adams decide, Rodgers is confident that if this is the end with the Packers, it will be a conscious uncoupling.
“I feel like I’m at the place relationally with the Packers — in a really good place, especially with Brian and the way our friendship and trust has grown — where it would be a simple conversation and whatever comes out of the conversation is moving forward,” Rodgers said. “There’s not going to be a weird standoff, war of silence or anything. Brian and I have had good conversations throughout the year, and when it comes time to make a decision, we’ll have a conversation and that’ll be that. It won’t be a long, drawn-out process. ”