Davante Adams locked in for Packers offseason

While Aaron Rodgers’ attendance at the Green Bay Packers mandatory minicamp was always unlikely, the Packers did see the return of their top wide receivers. Davante Adams, Allen Lazard, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Equanimeous St. Brown, and Devin Funchess, who had all skipped the voluntary period of the offseason activities for their own reasons, made their return to Green Bay this Tuesday.

This is great news for Jordan Love, who has a chance to practice with the team’s best weapons and show what he’s learned so far. Even better news is Davante Adams, who claimed his spot as the best receiver in the league in 2020, will partake in all further offseason activities.

Adams, who enters the last year of his current contract, could easily choose to hold out for an extension. Coming off of an All-Pro season, Adams is certainly due a big check following the 2021 season. Players in these situations are loathe to risk getting hurt and missing out on potential big money with their next contracts.

Couple this with MVP Aaron Rodgers unknown status for the coming season and it’s easy to imagine a holdout situation for Adams. In fact, when he and the Packers’ lead receivers didn’t show for voluntary OTAs, many speculated there was some sort of agreement between them.

Instead, Adams reasoning for skipping voluntary activities, which are, again, voluntary, were much more mundane.

The Packers’ top receiving threat chose to skip the activities because he didn’t feel like he needed them and so that he could spend more time with his daughter, Adams told reporters in his media availability on Tuesday.

“It was just to be smart.”

Adams also feels his absence was good for the younger wide receivers who needed the chance to develop more than he does. He denied any involvement in the rest of his receiving core skipping out, even adding that some of the guys that skipped could have used the development.

Whether or not the Packers offer him an extension, Adams is locked in this offseason.

“I’m from East Palo Alto, California. I grew up with zero dollars,” Adams told reporters. He’s going to do his job and make the money he’s earned.

Adams has no insight to whether Aaron Rodgers will return, despite being one of his close friends and backing him either way, but made it clear he’s here to play regardless.

An extension for Adams could lock down the receiver for the rest of his prime, and a carefully constructed deal could help the Packers’ cap issues for the next few years. But as the league’s top receiver, he won’t be cheap.

But for now, Adams is here and ready to play some football, no matter who starts at quarterback.