The sudden divorce between the Green Bay Packers and star wide receiver Davante Adams sent shock waves throughout the league. It came as a real surprise as many believed Adams and Rodgers were a lock to return to the “Frozen Tundra” once Rodgers re-signed for the next four seasons.
But Adams, who had grown tired of the yearly indecision of whether Rodgers would return, retire or be traded, asked to be traded roughly ten days after Rodgers agreed to his extension.
The Packers obliged their star pass-catcher and traded him to the Raiders, reuniting him with his college quarterback Derek Carr.
Legendary former Packers quarterback Brett Favre believes the separation will affect Adams more than Rodgers. In a recent interview with TMZ Sports, the former three-time NFL MVP and Pro Football Hall of Famer said:
“No disrespect to Davante at all — zero disrespect. I do think Davante will make Derek Carr better, and in time they will be a dynamic duo. Now, will it be the duo that Aaron and Davante had? I think Derek Carr is a very good quarterback, but he’s not in Aaron’s league yet. He may never be, and that’s no disrespect either, but I do think Davante owes a great deal of gratitude to Aaron and the Packers drafting him.”
“That’s not to say he’s not a great player because he is a tremendous player and we’ll see that with Las Vegas. But it’s just hard to shift gears, especially from a player as prolific as Aaron Rodgers. I’d be shocked if he has the same year (this year) he’s had. That’s not to say he can’t do it, but I would be shocked.”
Brett Favre tells TMZ Sports he's expecting a drop-off from Davante Adams now that he's left Aaron Rodgers. https://t.co/CCXVjHxRxH
— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) July 3, 2022
Favre is almost insinuating that he doesn’t believe Adams would’ve been as successful in his NFL career without Rodgers as his quarterback. What Favre seems to be overlooking is Adams has provided Rodgers a consistent threat, a security blanket of sorts, that the MVP could always count on to make plays. In fact over the last two seasons, Adams caught 238 passes for 2,997 yards and 29 touchdowns. The seasons earned him back-to-back All-Pro nods.
Rodgers Didn’t Just Lose Adams:
While Adams was the biggest loss, the Packers also lost vertical threat Marquez Valdes-Scantling, the team’s third-leading receiver.
Replacing MVS won’t be impossible. In fact, the team drafted North Dakota State speedster Christian Watson, who has a tremendous skill set and talent to match.
But the Adams loss isn’t one you overcome easily. He’s considered by many to be the best receiver in the NFL.
Favre had this to say about how difficult it is trying to replace elite players like Rodgers and Adams, and it’s not something you do easily.
“They’ll be OK. It’s hard to replace a great player like Davante Adams. It’s hard to replace Aaron Rodgers. You don’t replace those players. You plug someone and hope that the others take up the slack until that person finds their own way. Aaron’s too good. Much like Tom Brady has gone into every season and manage to systematically tear teams apart with whoever. It doesn’t matter. And that will be the case with Aaron.”
1️⃣2️⃣ to 1️⃣7️⃣ for the 6️⃣6️⃣th time! 🙌@AaronRodgers12 & @tae15adams are now the most productive TD duo in #Packers history, surpassing Rodgers & Jordy Nelson. #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/VkZfySWRo3
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 25, 2021
Favre played with a host of talented receivers that he probably made better, but none were as good as Adams. So while he’s saying all this, he never played with a receiver quite as dynamic as Adams.
Rodgers And Adams Put Up Historic Numbers
Since Adams was drafted in 2014, he and Rodgers have put up some historic numbers as a duo. In 108 games played together the duo connected 622 times for 7,590 yards and 69 touchdowns. Adams also secured five straight Pro Bowl selections to go with the two aforementioned All-Pro nods their final two seasons together.
Grateful 🙏🏾 https://t.co/NP3Ax7Wx16
— Davante Adams (@tae15adams) January 10, 2022
Despite all of their gaudy stats, the team never made it to the Super Bowl, losing twice in the NFC Championship Game.
Carr may not be Rodgers, who’s the reigning back-to-back NFL MVP, but he does have the most vital weapon that helped Rodgers secure those awards.
And that’s Davante Adams.
