Can reunion with Davante Adams be Packers’ answer at wide receiver?

Paul Bretl | 3/5/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Perhaps of some interest to the Packers, the New York Jets announced on Tuesday that they released wide receiver Davanate Adams, making him a free agent who is able to sign wherever he pleases.

Despite the unteady quarterback play at times around Adams since he left Green Bay in 2022, the wideout has continued to put up impressive numbers. In his two full seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders, Adams eclipsed 100 receptions each season, totaled 22 touchdowns, and recorded 1,516 yards in 2022 and 1,144 yards in 2023. Adams was also named an All-Pro during that 2022 season as well.

In this most recent season, which included three games in Las Vegas and the rest with Aaron Rodgers and the Jets, Adams totaled 85 receptions, 1,063 yards, and eight touchdowns.

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After a 2024 season in Green Bay where the Packers didn’t see the level of growth that they had hoped for or needed from their group of young wide receivers, the topic of conversation this offseason quickly turned to whether or not the team needs a true No. 1 target.

That speculation only increased when running back Josh Jacobs shared his thoughts on the matter at Radio Row during the Super Bowl.

“I love the guys that we have in the receiving room,” Jacobs said on radio row at the Super Bowl on 97.3 The Game. “They all have the potential to be [a No.] 1. But we need a guy that’s proven to be [a No.] 1.”

However, while Jacobs’ comments stirred up conversation on the outside, internally, GM Brian Gutekunst isn’t going to change how he operates or goes about constructing the Packers’ roster.

“What our players say in the media doesn’t really affect the way we’re going to go about things,” Gutekunst said at the NFL Combine. “I have a lot of private conversations with our players, and that’s very important to me. How they feel about our locker room and our team is important to me, but what happened that doesn’t really move the needle for me.”

Regardless of how the Packers accomplish it, improved play from the receiver position in 2025 is mandatory if they are going to compete consistently with the NFC’s best. A disjointed passing game was too much to overcome down the stretch last season, and while no one player or position group is at fault–it’s on everyone–dropped passes and a lack of detailed route running were a part of the problem, and those were issues that the Packers had to navigate for much of the season.

“You’d like to have somebody move into that space,” Gutekunst said of having a No. 1 receiver, “but, at the same time, I’d like multiple guys to be able to move into that space. What I’m looking for is guys that, when they’re called upon, can perform at a high level. I think we have a lot of guys that have done that.”

One of the biggest challenges that the Packers will face this offseason if Gutekunst does want to add a top-tier wide receiver to the mix is that there just aren’t many options available. In fact, there may only be one–Adams. It’s a risk to assume that player can be found in the NFL draft, particularly this year with a wide receiver class that isn’t as strong as we’ve grown accustomed to seeing.

Then, on the free-agent market, with Cincinnati franchise tagging Tee Higgins, Adams is the top available option. Chris Godwin and Amari Cooper are other alternatives.

On paper, Adams reuniting with the Packers makes all the sense in the world. Adams would give Jordan Love and the passing game that go-to presence that this offense has been missing. There is also something to be said for what Adams’ presence would add to both the receiver room and the locker room on a team that, as Gutekunst put it after the season, needs to “ramp up our sense of urgency.”

However, as we all know, there are factors beyond the pure football element in play as well. Adams is going to have a hefty market in free agency, creating competition for the Packers–if they do have an interest in signing him–and with that, comes a good-sized payday. Salary cap-wise, the Packers do have the flexibility to bring in Adams, but the trickle-down effect of that contract is how does it limit what Green Bay can do at other positions?

There is also the important question of what Adams wants. Jason Wilde of Channel 3000 in Madison reported that Adams is “open” to the idea of returning to Green Bay. However, according to Ian Rapoport, the “pull of being on the west coast is very real” for Adams. He could also look to continue playing with Aaron Rodgers as well.

Gutekunst has acknowledged that the Packers do need someone to step into that top wide receiver role. He’s also said that he believes already on the roster are a few players who have the ability to do that. However, assuming the Packers’ current group of receivers take that step comes with risks, particularly given how last season played out.

The ingredients for the Packers to reunite with Adams may exist, but the recipe–how it all comes together–may not be on hand.

“I think we’re certainly looking for these guys that we have currently to take a step into that role where they are more consistent on the down-down basis,” Gutekunst said after the season. “Certainly if there’s somebody outside of our building, whether it’s the draft, free agency, that makes some sense for us, we’ll certainly look to do that, but we’re also looking for these guys to continue to grow and hopefully grow into that space.”

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