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Over the years, we’ve heard talk about a slew of wide receivers linked to the New England Patriots. Quite honestly, in the past 10 years, the only ones of note who have landed in New England have been Josh Gordon, Antonio Brown, Brandin Cooks and Mohamed Sanu.
Quite honestly, none of those acquisitions have worked well for the Patriots. That said, a new major name has been linked to New England, and it is Green Bay Packers all-world WR Davante Adams.
If you’re wondering if the Patriots can afford Adams, the answer is yes.
Patriots Have the Financial Flexibility to Trade for Davante Adams
The Packers and Adams have reportedly ceased their efforts to work out an extension, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, which could mean Green Bay is open to trading arguably the best wide receiver in football.
At this point, we don’t know if Adams will participate at training camp. According to Rapoport, Adams wants to be the NFL’s highest-paid wide receiver, but the Packers apparently aren’t willing to approach those numbers.
We don’t know if the Patriots would be willing to pay Adams what the Packers apparently aren’t, but New England salary cap guru Miguel Bezan, it is possible.
However, the Patriots would need Adams to redo his deal to make it work through this season.
If acquiring Adams was ever a real possibility for the Patriots, it’s the kind of splash they should consider, but because of what it cost New England, a trade seems unlikely.
Acquiring Adams Would Cost the Patriots Tons of Draft Assets
Teams aren’t able to trade for talents like Adams without the cost being high. If Green Bay does decide to trade Adams, it will be looking to flip the receiver for draft assets that help to strengthen the roster for years to come.
Bill Huber of Fan Nation believes that the Packers trading Aaron Rodgers and Devante Adams could jumpstart a rebuild.
Huber wrote:
If the Packers can’t sign Adams to an extension, the executives agreed the team likely would use the franchise tag on Adams next offseason and then trade him. The executive said he’d offer a deal similar to what the Buffalo Bills gave up to get Stefon Diggs from the Minnesota Vikings before the 2020 draft. In that deal, the Bills got Diggs and a seventh-round pick in exchange for first-, fourth-, fifth- and sixth-round picks. Adams and Diggs are among the NFL’s premier receivers; Diggs is one year younger. All told, the Packers could spin Adams and Rodgers for three first-round picks, a competent quarterback in Carr to provide some insurance behind Jordan Love, and picks in the fourth through sixth rounds. Moreover, the Packers would be awash in cap space for 2022. Rodgers has cap charges of $37.2 million in 2021, $39.9 million in 2022 and $28.4 million in 2023 compared to $22.1 million in 2021 and $19.9 million for Carr in 2022.
That’s not a bad plan especially considering the relationships between the Packers and Adams and Rodgers is damaged beyond repair. However, it is tough to imagine New England giving up a first, fourth, fifth and sixth-rounder for anyone–even Adams.
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