Get ready for Aaron Rodgers to publish to social media the lyrics to a sad breakup song along with a crying emoji and a black-and-white photo.
Or get ready for Rodgers to circulate the popular “I’m not leavin’ ” meme from “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
Tuesday could be the day that the future Hall of Fame quarterback finds a dramatic way to announce whether he wants to remain with the Packers, ask for a trade or retire. More precisely, it’s the day the Packers probably were using as an unofficial deadline, since it seems they are wary of setting a hard-and-fast cutoff and further alienating Rodgers.
NFL teams must decide by 4 p.m. whether to franchise tag potential free agents. The Packers have the league’s biggest decision to make on All-Pro receiver Davante Adams, whose future seems tied to whether Rodgers returns and another run at the Super Bowl is in the cards. Otherwise, why have the Packers waited so long on Adams?
“Those two situations are completely different,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said last week. “They’re two different players and two different situations, both great in their own right. We were lucky to have them and hopefully able to have them both moving forward. But they’re separate.”
Aaron Rodgers could announce his Packers intention as early as Tuesday. AP Photo
Davante Adams’ Packers future is tied to Aaron Rodgers’. Getty ImagesThe tag is a high-paying, one-year contract offer (a fully guaranteed $18.4 million for receivers) that typically acts as a placeholder to keep a player out of free agency and prolong extension negotiations. If no deal is reached by July 15, the tag takes effect and contract talks must stop.
The free-agent pass-rushing market also could hinge on Rodgers’ decision. If he wants out and Adams is set free, then edge-rushers Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith also could become available if the Packers choose to rebuild and organize their salary cap.
Of course, retaining Adams also would be crucial to quarterback Jordan Love’s development, but it’s much less likely that Adams would be willing to play on a one-year contract with the unproven Love than with the other half of maybe the NFL’s most dynamic duo.
If Adams reaches free agency, he enters the conversation as the top available player regardless of position and a threat to reunite with his former Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr of the Raiders.
