In the NFL, when you give your quarterback a brand-new, $150 million, three-year deal it’s difficult to keep the rest of your star players. The Green Bay Packers learned this the hard way: Mere days after Aaron Rodgers’ signed his new pact to stay in Wisconsin, his (now former) receiver Davante Adams was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders.
In return, the Raiders are sending their first- and second-round picks—22nd and 53rd overall, respectively—in this year’s draft, which will give the Pack four choices in the top 60 (22, 28, 53, and 59).
The 29-year-old Adams will be signing a five-year contract with $67.5 million fully guaranteed to remain in the desert. He’ll be reunited with his Fresno State teammate, Derek Carr, who is, of course, the QB for the Raiders.
LV is now 25-1 to win the AFC, while GB dropped from 11-1 to 12-1 to win the Super Bowl.
The departure of one of Rodgers’ favorite targets leaves a void, as two other receivers from last year’s team are free agents: Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Equanimeous St. Brown. The former could still be brought back, but St. Brown signed with the Bears. The team’s top receivers are Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb, Amari Rodgers and Malik Taylor.
Rodgers and Adams own the Packers’ record for most career touchdowns by a QB-WR tandem (68), breaking the QB and Jordy Nelson’s former record of 65.
