Davante Adams may have dropped a hint this week about potentially wanting to return to the Green Bay Packers for the 2025 season, and his comments did not go unnoticed by Packers Pro Bowl free safety Xavier McKinney.
Adams opened the door to speculation about a possible return to Green Bay during his guest appearance on “Up & Adams” when he answered a question from host Kay Adams about what he believes — as a former Packers player — Green Bay may do this offseason.
“Obviously, it depends on the health of their team coming into the beginning of next season,” Adams said of the Packers on January 13. “It’s looking right now like obviously they might need some receiver help in one way or the other just based off what they have available. Maybe a veteran or something in there. I don’t know, we’ll see.”
Now, Adams might not have meant to imply that he would accept a trade from the New York Jets back to the Packers this offseason, but McKinney certainly seemed to take it that way and couldn’t resist making his pitch for Adams to reunite with Green Bay.
“Mannnnnnnnnn pull back up!” McKinney wrote on X in response to a video clip of Adams’ interview, tagging the former Packers superstar’s X account to drive it home.
Could Packers Consider a Trade for Davante Adams?
McKinney might simply be having fun with the idea of Adams returning to Green Bay, but could the Packers actually consider it if the Jets and Adams had interest in a trade?
Under his current contract, Adams is a near-impossible sell. He has salary-cap hits in excess of $38 million in the final two years of his $140 million contract in 2025 and 2026 and will turn 33 next December. If Adams is willing to rework his contract into something that fits the Packers’ budget, though, then a trade becomes realistic.
According to Over the Cap, the Packers will have roughly $51.3 million in cap space for the 2025 offseason, so they could acquire Adams and pay him a quality salary — though he would still need to take a pay cut to make it work. The Jets might also settle for lower draft compensation if they are eager to start their rebuild and dump Adams’ contract.
The question is will the Packers pursue a veteran wide receiver for their 2025 offense?
The Packers will return all four of their top wide receivers — Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks — next season, but they have injury issues to monitor for both Watson and Doubs that could influence their decision-making. It also seemed like they could have used a veteran pass-catcher in their wild-card loss.
The Packers will have more affordable options than Adams, though. Amari Cooper and Stefon Diggs are both 30-year-olds likely looking to sign with a contender and would not cost draft capital to acquire. Green Bay could also throw a big-money contract at a younger wide receiver, such as Cincinnati Bengals star and top free agent Tee Higgins.
With those options available, is Adams a first-rate choice?
Xavier McKinney & Josh Jacobs Recruiting for Packers
Whatever the Packers decide to do with their money, it helps their cause to have star players such as McKinney and running back Josh Jacobs determined to recruit more talented players to the Packers and improve their chances of contending again in 2025.
Jacobs — who made the Pro Bowl in his first season with the Packers — raised a few eyebrows when he indicated that he plans to recruit players to the Packers during the offseason in the postgame of the team’s 22-10 wild-card loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
“The main thing on my mind is figuring out how to take that step,” Jacobs said Sunday. “How do I help the guys take that step? But also, man, like I said, the locker room’s going to be different. We’ve got some guys due for a contract this year, we don’t know what that’s going to look like or how that’s going to shake out. But I know I’m going to try and get some guys here. So most definitely that.”
Some fans thought of Jacobs’ connections to the Raiders — and former teammate Maxx Crosby — when he made his comments about recruiting players to the Packers. Las Vegas is also preparing to rebuild in 2025 and could look to offload the 27-year-old superstar if it receives a high-end offer; though, that’s a stretch for the Packers.
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