Davante Adams is frustrated with his role inside the Las Vegas Raiders organization, and he has made it clear over the past couple of weeks. Be it for the lack of usage or a desire to win now, the receiver seems to be unhappy with his situation one and a half years after being traded from the Green Bay Packers.

"I'm a human being and I have extremely high standards for myself in this offense," said Adams. "I'm sure people are thinking, 'They won the game, why is there an issue?' I mean, you see why it's an issue. Y'all should know who I am, know what I'm about at this point. When you're a player like me, mentally, my benchmark is not wins and losses, it's greatness."

In fact, several things have changed on the Raiders since the deal. The biggest was the team parting ways with quarterback and long-time Adams friend Derek Carr to go with Jimmy Garoppolo.

But could Davante Adams be back with the Packers? There are pros and cons.

Why it does make sense

In terms of volume, probably nobody would be willing to use Davante as much as head coach Matt LaFleur did. He admitted right after the trade that 80% of the plays had the star receiver as the primary read.

"I'd say that's pretty accurate," LaFleur said after being questioned about the topic last year.

Moreover, even though the Packers have invested heavily in the wide receiver position, the group is extremely young and doesn't have a clear number 1 weapon.

With Adams back, the entire unit could come into place: Christian Watson would be a perfect Z receiver, Jayden Reed is a promising slot, and Romeo Doubs could turn into a possession, rotational piece.

Why it doesn't make sense

There are, however, many other issues when considering a possible reunion between the Packers and Davante. When he requested a trade from Green Bay, the uncertain future at quarterback was a consideration — and that still applies, as Aaron Rodgers has been traded and Jordan Love hasn't consolidated himself as a long-term guarantee. Moreover, Adams indicated a desire to be closer to his family near the West Coast, and Green Bay is still in Wisconsin.

There's also an investment aspect. The Packers could absorb Adams' deal right now — if he's traded at the deadline, the acquiring team's cap hit would be just $3.62 million. But the deal is way more expensive over the next couple of years: $17.5 million in 2024, $36.25 million in 2025, $36.25 million in 2026. Just the 2024 salary is guaranteed at this point, but the Packers wouldn't trade draft capital away for one season. And the last two years of Adams' deal were inflated money-wise to elevate his yearly average at signing.

The draft capital investment, by the way, is another big factor. The Packers won't have an extra first-rounder next year as previously expected because of Aaron Rodgers' injury. And if Love doesn't improve until the end of the season, Brian Gutekunst may want as much capital as possible to select a quarterback. The Packers have been a middle-of-the-pack team, so their first-rounder might be relatively high.

The Raiders could trade Adams for less than a first, but it's not a likely scenario at this point.

Role

Finally, Davante's role hasn't diminished that much. Maybe it's a personal perception because he isn't as close to Garoppolo as he was to Aaron Rodgers and Derek Carr. But he's on pace to have 167 targets this season — that's only slightly less than what he had last year (180), and basically the same number he had in his last year in Green Bay (169).

He's also on pace for 1,334 yards. The real difference is regarding touchdowns, an area in which he's on pace to score eight times after reaching the end zone 43 times over the last three years.

Verdict

All the reasons that motivated Davante Adams to request a trade in 2022 are still valid — quarterback question mark, geography. The changes have been related to the Las Vegas Raiders, and not the Packers. So while it's fair for him to be frustrated, it doesn't seem like Green Bay would be his answer.

Additionally, the Packers are trying to build a new offense, and while Adams is a great player, he will be 31 in December. His career timeline doesn't fit with the Packers roster-building timeline.

The Packers and Davante Adams decided to part ways for multiple reasons 20 months ago. Those reasons might be even more pronounced now, and a reunion is much more of a dream than a realistic scenario.

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