Three post-Davante Adams trade options for the Green Bay Packers

The Packers decided to trade Davante Adams to the Raiders Thursday night, leaving a massive hole on the roster. Adams is widely considered to be the best receiver in the league. And to compound the situation, the Packers also don't have many options at the position. They recently tendered restricted free agent Allen Lazard and […]

Evan Winter NFL Managing Editor
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Oct 25, 2021; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf (14) talks on the sideline during the third quarter against the New Orleans Saints at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

The Packers decided to trade Davante Adams to the Raiders Thursday night, leaving a massive hole on the roster.

Adams is widely considered to be the best receiver in the league. And to compound the situation, the Packers also don't have many options at the position. They recently tendered restricted free agent Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb is still around, but with all due respect, those two don't even make up half the receiver that Adams is. Outside of Lazard and Cobb, the Packers have Amari Rodgers and the little-known trio of Juwann Winfree, Rico Gaffard, and Chris Blair.

It's pretty obvious they're going to need some help, but they now have resources to find said help after the trade. Green Bay has two first-round picks and two second-round picks, so it's certainly possible for them to acquire a receiver (or maybe even two) to help fill Adams' roster spot. However, money is still a factor, as the Packers are just a little over $1 million under the salary cap.

Who can come in and help? Let's take a look at three possible options:

3. Robert Woods

Woods is not the most ideal candidate based off his salary and his age. He's also coming off a torn ACL he suffered during a mid-November practice.

But, part of making a trade is you have to have another dance partner. And the Rams may be the most realistic partner out there. Reports are Woods is on the market after Allen Robinson signed with the Rams. There are other reports that Odell Beckham Jr. is still in the mix for L.A., even though he isn't expected to return from his own torn ACL until November.

Woods is on the outside looking in, if that is the case. To make the situation worse, he has a cap hit north of $15 million over the remaining four years of his deal. Based off how the Rams do business, that's a cap hit they'll want to get rid of as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

The Packers will have to figure out what they want to do about Woods' salary, but it's logical to think they could land the veteran wideout for a fourth-round pick or less, which allows the Packers to keep their five picks in the first three rounds of the draft. And, Woods is a good fit for what the Packers like to do on offense, considering Matt LaFleur's system is derived from Sean McVay's.

2. D.K. Metcalf

The Packers are definitely going to lose one of their first-round picks and they may even lose an additional second-round pick if they go after Metcalf. But they would receive one of the league's best young wideouts for a cheap cap hit of $3.986 million. And they'd still have a pick in each round.

Green Bay will likely have to extend Metcalf, but it wouldn't really affect the 2022 cap hit too much if they did. Brian Gutekunst will probably give him a good-sized signing bonus and the deal would be for at least four years, which allows Gutekunst to both pay Metcalf and minimize the hit up front.

Jan 9, 2022; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf (14) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 9, 2022; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf (14) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The biggest obstacle in this hypothetical trade is Seattle's willingness to part ways with Metcalf. This would all but signal a rebuild for the Seahawks and it's fair to wonder if Pete Carroll really wants to deal with that at 70-years-old.

However, the Seahawks did just trade Russell Wilson to the Broncos, so the idea of Carroll and a rebuild isn't completely unfathomable. Plus, shipping Metcalf would give the Seahawks more reason (or excuses) to establish Carroll's strict, run-first philosophy/mentality.

Overall, this seems like this could work. And it would easily be the best scenario for the Packers.

1. Brandin Cooks

The Texans are obviously in rebuild mode. It's just a matter of time before the Deshaun Watson trade goes through. It remains to be seen how that goes down, but the Texans are going to receive a bounty of picks and they're going to clear a ton of cap space. They may even receive a veteran quarterback like Matt Ryan if Atlanta ends up as Watson's final destination.

Cooks will be 29 at the end of September and is in the last year of his deal. The Texans would clear around $9 million in cap room if they were to trade him. The Packers would take on a little more than $13 million in the trade, but if they like Cooks enough, they can extend Cooks, which would help with the cap hit.

It all depends on the asking price for Cooks. The Texans traded a second-round pick to the Rams for Cooks and the Rams' fourth-round pick in 2020, so it's logical to assume he shouldn't cost more than a third-round pick, this time around. The Packers may have to throw in like, a sixth-round pick, too. But that wouldn't be a steep price, at all.

If the Packers pull this off, they would receive one of the league's more underrated receivers in Cooks and he could fill the deep threat role of Marquez Valdes-Scantling in case the Packers don't retain him. And, they'd hold on to their top draft picks, making it a win-win as long as they can figure out Cooks' contract.

Featured image via Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports