Despite seemingly making progress on a deal earlier this summer, Devante Adams has halted contract talks with the Green Bay Packers.
It’s not just Aaron Rodgers causing some drama in Green Bay.
Wide receiver Davante Adams, who was seemingly making progress on a new long-term deal with the Packers earlier this offseason, has reportedly broken off talks with the team.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the two sides have experienced a falling out and are now very far apart in contract extension negotiations.
As Rapoport puts it, the Packers and Adams are ‘in a bad place’, which doesn’t bode well for a deal getting done before training camp opening in a few days.
“It’s not just Aaron Rodgers: The Packers and star wide receiver Davante Adams have broken off long-term extension talks. There are no current plans to resume them,” Rapoport reported on Friday. “The two sides have been negotiating for months, but they are now in a bad place, sources say.”
But wait, there’s more.
Rapoport goes on to report that the Packers are the ones driving the wedge between player and team.
“The Packers and Davante Adams’ reps worked behind the scenes to get a deal done. The proposals have not acknowledged Adams as the highest-paid WR, sources say. Green Bay’s classic structure has led to limited options. Now, talks are off with just a few days to go before camp.”
Devante Adams contract
Adams is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2021 season, and there seemed to be interest from both sides in getting a deal done before training camp. It was one of the only bright shining lights Packers fans looked to as a beacon of hope in an offseason full of drama, but now that light hasn’t so much burned out as it’s exploded like a kerosene lamp.
Right now Adams is being paid $12.25 million for the 2021 season, one that he may play without Aaron Rodgers throwing him the ball. The question becomes whether Adams is smart to gamble on his past success and carry that into free agency with him, but risk a down season with Jordan Love, or sign long-term with the Packers.
That seems to be the negotiating tactic the Packers are using, as the hubris of Green Bay’s management is running the risk of driving away its two best players.