Getty Green Bay Packers fans are begging for a Davante Adams reunion.
The Green Bay Packers have found some emerging young talent at wide receiver in rookies Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs, but fans are calling for a reunion with superstar wideout Davante Adams following some recent news.
After being traded to the Las Vegas Raiders, Adams was expecting a possible Super Bowl run with Derek Carr, his former college quarterback at Fresno State. Instead, the Raiders have gone just 6-9, and prior to their Week 17 showdown, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted that Carr would be benched for the remainder of the season.
Raiders are benching Derek Carr and turning to Jarrett Stidham as their new starting QB.
Carr has thrown a league-leading 14 interceptions— including three Saturday night during a 13-10 loss to the Steelers.
Stidham has thrown only 61 passes and never has started an NFL game.
Backup QB Jarrett Stidham will be taking over for the Raiders, but given Adams’ relationship with Carr, Packers fans were quick to speculate about a possible reunion between the team and their former superstar receiver. Fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts and speculate about Adams being back in Green Bay.
“Well, maybe Davante gets traded two years in a row and comes back to GB?” one fan shared. “A man can dream.”
“Come home my sweet number 17,” and fan tweeted about Adams.
It’s time to come home, king @tae15adams
“It’s time to come home, king @tae15adams” another fan tweeted at Adams.
Could Davante Adams Return to Green Bay?
As much as Packers fans would want to see Adams back in Green Bay catching passes from Aaron Rodgers, it’s unlikely that happens, at least any time soon.
With Adams set to hit free agency last offseason, the Packers decided to trade their superstar receiver to the Raiders in exchange for multiple draft picks. The Raiders then made Adams one of the richest wide receivers in the NFL, signing him to a five-year deal worth more than $140 million.
Even if the Packers and Adams had mutual interest in a reunion, that contract would make things very difficult in a potential trade. The Raiders would take on a $31 million dead cap hit by trading Adams in 2023, and the Packers would have a massive cap hit of their own to deal with every season through 2026 to deal.
On top of that, it’s also possible that Adams wouldn’t want to come back to Green Bay for non-financial reasons. One of the biggest reasons Adams wanted to play in Las Vegas was to be closer to family, and moving back to Green Bay would make it harder for him to be close to all of his family members who live on the West Coast.
A lot would need to happen for a Packers-Adams reunion, but as long as Rodgers is still playing, fans will hope that the superstar wide receiver will want to run it back one last time.
Do the Packers Actually Need a WR?
Despite the impact that Adams could bring, the emergence of Green Bay’s young receivers means that the team might have more pressing needs in the near future than adding another wideout.
Despite Christian Watson’s early struggles, the second-round rookie has caught fire over the last couple of months, racking up eight total touchdowns over a four-game span. Meanwhile, fourth-round pick Romeo Doubs has become a favorite target for Rodgers when healthy.
Tight end might be the more pressing need for a pass-catching weapon. Robert Tonyan, Marcedes Lewis, and Tyler Davis will all be free agents in 2023, and it’s unlikely the Packers will offer serious money to keep any of them around. Instead, the team might prefer to take a tight end in the 2023 draft like Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer in the first round.
As exciting as wide receivers are in today’s NFL, the position might not be as pressing of a need this offseason than previously expected thanks to Watson and Doubs.