Packers get under salary cap thanks to Aaron Rodgers’ old friend

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Randall Cobb, as well as safety Adrian Amos, played a significant role in getting the team under the salary cap.

Cobb took a pay cut, but does have incentives in his contract to potentially earn all of that money back. It was a move the veteran wideout had to know was coming, as releasing Cobb was widely expected to be a solution to the Packers’ salary cap issues. A contract restructure actually works to his favor given what Cobb would’ve gotten on the open market.

This way, the Packers also don’t risk angering Rodgers by releasing one of his best friends on the team.

What will Packers do with newfound cap room?

Green Bay doesn’t have a ton of room to work with, but first and foremost on their to-do list should be working on a new contract for Davante Adams.

The Packers reportedly offered Adams a long-term contract that would’ve made him the highest-paid wide receiver in football at $23 million a year. However, Adams turned that down, instead looking to earn the highest AAV at somewhere in the upper-20’s, likely close to $30 million.

That’s a significant amount of money for the Packers to spend, but perhaps they can find a way to limit the cap hit for the 2022 season. A large signing bonus would do the trick, as well as backloading the deal for Adams’ later years — though that could come back to bite the Packers in the long run.

Either way, Brian Gutenukst knows how to get creative with the salary cap, and it seems unlikely that Adams will start the season without a new deal. Rodgers’ favorite target has made it extremely clear that he will not play on the franchise tag.

By restructuring Cobb’s deal, the Packers can move onto Adams, which is inarguably the most important matter at hand.