Tuesday deadline important for Packers’ short-term future

Before the deadline on Tuesday, the Green Bay Packers must decide if they want to use the franchise tag on All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams.

Their decision will be the first domino to fall this offseason. It could be a sign of what’s next.

If Adams is franchise-tagged, it could also help Aaron Rodgers make his decision on his future.

The Packers need to get under the salary cap before next Wednesday. Per Spotrac, they are currently $29.8 million over the cap. Franchise-tagging Adams would add around $20 million on top of that.

Green Bay would have a week to clear a ton of cap space.

This could include releasing players like Za’Darius Smith and Randall Cobb. It could mean restructures. It could mean contract extensions for Jaire Alexander and, perhaps, Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers’ future will go a way to helping get under the cap, no matter what he decides. Whether by trading him or extending his deal, the Packers will be able to lower Rodgers’ $46.67 million cap hit.

We’ve waited two months for Rodgers to make a decision on his future. Well, deadlines spur action. With the franchise tag deadline tomorrow and the new league year beginning a week on Wednesday, time is running out. Rodgers said he would make a decision before then, so very soon we will know.

The Packers also need to know so they can move forward with their offseason plans. They have no choice but to get under the cap by next week. They need to know whether they are doing so while trying to run it back for 2022, or whether they are rebuilding this year.

At some point in the next 24 hours or so, we’ll find out whether the Packers plan to franchise-tag Adams. It’s the first of many big decisions to come over the next week as free agency nears.