GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Aaron Rodgers‘ trickle-down effect has begun, and the first player it could impact is All-Pro receiver Davante Adams.
Adams is in the final year of his contract and if his quarterback is done in Green Bay, then it could complicate things for Adams in Wisconsin.
“Potentially, potentially; that’s my guy,” Adams said Monday during an appearance on Fox Sports Radio. “That’s the only guy that I’ve had — other than that 2017 season, when he got hurt. That’s the only guy that I’ve played with. We’ve built up a special connection over the years that has put us both in really good positions in our career. Not that he needed me to come along for it, because he was already in that spot, but we’ve established a lot together.
“So, it would change a lot. Doesn’t mean potentially I’d be gone, but I’d definitely have to do some extra thinking if my guy wasn’t here.”
Adams, who caught 115 passes for 1,374 yards and 18 touchdowns last season, is in the final year of a four-year, $58 million deal. With an average per year of $14.5 million, he’s slipped to No. 15 on the receiver pay scale.
Adams said he’s talked with Rodgers “a little bit” since the news of his quarterback’s disgruntlement with the Packers was first reported by ESPN last month.
“A lot is still being figured out on his end, so it’s tough for me to get into the specifics and speak on it,” Adams said. “Obviously, I would love to. Can’t wait until I can tell you he’s back and we’re back doing our thing we’ve been doing. But for now, you’ve got to iron out a few things. Hopefully I’ll be back on the show and we’ll be celebrating taking shots and whatnot.”
Added Adams: “We all know this is a pretty intense business, there’s a lot that happens, a lot that goes on here. Just like any other job, you want to be happy, and once you’ve gained that respect, you want to be treated with that type of respect. There’s certain things that I can’t speak on specifics, but there are certain things that he wants, and maybe the club wasn’t so excited about living up to right away.
“And that can affect a guy who’s done so much for an organization. He’s put his body and really laid his life on the line out there for that team, for his teammates. So I’ve been behind him 100% throughout the whole thing. Obviously I’m praying everything works out and we get him back and we can continue to go out there and continue to do stuff like we did (last season) because it’s a lot of fun doing that.”
As for Rodgers’ possible replacement, Jordan Love, Adams said it’s tough to evaluate him given how few reps he’s had.
“Based off what I’ve seen, he works really hard, he’s really attentive and he’s like a sponge with Aaron in that room, just soaking up everything, all the knowledge and different things,” Adams said. “With his mechanics, I know he’s been working on (them) to try and get better and better. But it’s tough, because I haven’t seen him play, I haven’t seen him get out there in preseason. So after this year, I think we’ll be able to give a more accurate assessment of that, seeing him go against a few other teams, maybe some training camp practices (with another team). So we’ll see. I definitely have faith that he can get it done and whoever’s out there., I showed it in 2017 with Brett Hundley, I’m going to get out there and be ready to ball regardless. Control what I can control. And Love, he’s been looking good from what I’ve seen, but that real live action is what will really let us know.”