Davante Adams

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Darren Waller is excited about his team's chances in 2022, as he told TMZ Sports:

"It feels like it has the makings of a special year," Waller said. "For sure."

The Raiders had a surprising 10-7 finish in 2021, reaching the playoffs for the first time in five years. The team then made big moves in the offseason, including a trade for star receiver Davante Adams and signing pass-rusher Chandler Jones.

It could be necessary to compete in the now-loaded AFC West, with the Denver Broncos adding Russell Wilson and the Los Angeles Chargers adding Khalil Mack to compete with the defending division-champion Kansas City Chiefs.

Though Waller wouldn't declare his team a favorite in the division, the Raiders will certainly be one to watch.

"We're going to be a really good team, that's all I know," he told TMZ.

The Las Vegas Raiders joined the AFC West battle of riches with a blockbuster trade that will reunite former Fresno State teammates Derek Carr and Davante Adams. Though we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves with playoff predictions after ESPN's Adam Schefter broke the news, the Silver and Black have a duo that can lead the team to a Super Bowl.

Some football purists will continue to say, "defense wins championships," but teams don't need the Steel Curtain to reach the title game. In the modern league, a squad with a potent offense can get the job done—just look at the two clubs in Super Bowl 56.

The Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals finished the regular season with top-eight scoring offenses and scoring defenses that ranked 15th and 17th, respectively.

Offensively, Adams will draw a ton of attention and double-teams, which will open up space for Pro Bowl tight end Darren Waller, who had back-to-back 1,145-plus-yard seasons between 2019 and 2020, and Hunter Renfrow, an ascending receiver coming off a strong campaign with 103 receptions for 1,038 yards and nine touchdowns. 

With Carr's accurate arm (65 percent career completion rate) and his perimeter weapons, running backs Josh Jacobs and Kenyan Drake will see lighter boxes on the ground. If Vegas doesn't do enough to fix the offensive line, head coach Josh McDaniels can use the short passing game to offset some of the pass-blocking issues. 

Speaking of the Raiders offensive line, the unit needs a makeover after Alex Leatherwood showed little signs of promise at right tackle and right guard. Vegas should also find an upgrade for left guard John Simpson, who allowed three sacks and committed 10 penalties in 2021, per Pro Football Focus.

Nevertheless, the Raiders offensive line isn't the Achilles' heel that will sink their chance at a Super Bowl appearance. 

At 10-7, Vegas clinched a playoff spot with an offensive line that featured four new starters for the 2021 season. For comparison, the Bengals, with their poor offensive line, contributed to quarterback Joe Burrow taking 70 sacks (third-most in NFL history) between the regular season and the playoffs. Yet, he still helped lead his team to the Super Bowl.

The new Carr-Adams connection doesn't erase all ills, but it allows the Raiders to compete with the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos—who acquired quarterback Russell Wilson via trade—in scoring shootouts while making it tougher for pass defenses. 

With arguably the league's best receiver in the fold, expect the Raiders to target offensive linemen who can slow down pass-rushers within the division such as Khalil Mack, Joey Bosa, Chris Jones, Frank Clark, Bradley Chubb and Randy Gregory, giving Carr, who has a quick release, just enough time to get the ball out to his top playmaker. 

On the open market, Vegas can take a look at La'el Collins, Daryl Williams and Billy Turner as potential options to fill a void at right tackle. Also, a playoff-caliber squad with the added draw of a high-level quarterback-receiver tandem can garner interest from quality veterans who would take modest deals to play for a team with some buzz.

Keep in mind, a couple of weeks ago, McDaniels said team brass hadn't started negotiations with Carr's camp about an extension, which may cost the club $40 million per year beyond 2022, per Las Vegas Review-Journal's Vincent Bonsignore. The front office may want to fill holes before it hammers out a massive deal for the 30-year-old quarterback. With linebacker Cory Littleton and Carl Nassib earmarked as post-June 1 cuts, Vegas will have an additional $20 million to invest in Carr's new deal late in the spring.

Though the Raiders will need to spend responsibly with Adams on a new five-year, $141.3 million contract, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, general manager Dave Ziegler doesn't face an impossible task as we've seen with the Rams, who have routinely manipulated the salary cap to acquire big-time players.

Coming off of a successful title run, the Rams signed wideout Allen Robinson II to a three-year, $46.5 million contract (h/t NFL Network's Tom Pelissero) on the day after losing edge-rusher Von Miller to the Buffalo Bills in free agency, which shows the importance of fielding a high-level offense in the modern game. By the way, Los Angeles had about $2 million in cap space.

In analyzing the roster makeup and spending strategy of the Rams and Bengals, we shouldn't point to a shaky offensive line or limited cap flexibility as reasons to exclude the Raiders from the Super Bowl discussion next season. 

Defensively, Vegas must add a couple of defensive linemen in addition to Bilal Nichols, but they have a strong pass rush that can apply consistent quarterback pressure and close games. 

Before the trade for Adams, the Raiders signed Chandler Jones, who's recorded double-digit sacks in six of the last seven seasons. He'll pair up with Pro Bowl pass-rusher and 2021 second-team All-Pro Maxx Crosby to form a dynamic edge-rushing duo.

If Jones and Crosby get to the quarterback, the Raiders defensive backs won't have to cover receivers for extended periods. Trayvon Mullen, Anthony Averett, Rock Ya-Sin and Nate Hobbs won't strike anyone as top-notch cornerbacks, but they're all capable of feeding off a defense that's built around a viable pass rush.

Even with the question marks across the offensive line and the transition from former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley to Patrick Graham, the Raiders have hit big in two key areas that mirror exactly what we just saw in the last two Super Bowl contenders.

Along with the pass-rushers to clamp down on opposing offenses, think about the Carr-Adams connection in the same light as Matthew Stafford throwing to 2021 Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp or Joe Burrow re-establishing a bond with his former LSU teammate in 2021 Offensive Rookie of the Year Ja'Marr Chase.

Before the Raiders sent shockwaves across the league with the move for Adams, they already had a high-level quarterback in Carr who's hovering in the top-10-12 range at his position. Now, with an elite receiver, he'll likely have a spike in efficiency and production. 

At 29 years old, in his prime, Adams has racked up 1,374 receiving yards or more in three of the last four seasons and led the league in touchdown receptions (18) for the 2020 season. Without him, the Raiders finished with the sixth-ranked passing attack despite a subpar offensive line and losing Waller late in the season. The team also waived Henry Ruggs III, its best deep threat, midway through the season after he was charged with four felonies for a car crash that resulted in the death of 23-year-old Tina Tintor.

Now, the Raiders add a star receiver who has a ready-made rapport with Carr and the ability to soundly beat defenders off the line of scrimmage with savvy releases and a catch rate above 72 percent over the last two seasons.   

We often think of the quarterback as the primary player to elevate his teammates, and that still holds true for the Raiders. Michael Crabtree, Jared Cook and Waller have had some of their best seasons playing with Carr. Renfrow made a huge leap between his second and third campaigns. 

So we should expect a stellar joint performance when Carr reconnects with Adams, who's an elite talent in his own right, which spells trouble for not only the AFC West but the rest of the league.

Maurice Moton covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @MoeMoton.

The Las Vegas Raiders acquired Davante Adams from the Green Bay Packers in exchange for a 2022 first-round pick and a 2022 second-rounder, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

As part of the trade, Adams will sign a five-year, $141.25 million contract, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

This comes after the Packers placed the franchise tag on Adams earlier this month after the two sides were unable to reach a long-term deal. However, he reportedly informed the team earlier this week he wouldn't play under the tag.

According to Rob Demovsky of ESPN, Green Bay was willing to offer Adams the same contract as Las Vegas, but the wideout "preferred to play elsewhere."

Rapoport also noted that quarterback Aaron Rodgers—who recently signed a reported three-year, $150.8 million contract—was aware that Adams would not be returning to the team:

Adams has been the NFL's most productive receiver of the past half-decade, creating a connection with Rodgers that has allowed him to thrive despite a constantly changing group of fellow pass-catchers around him in Green Bay.

The 29-year-old ranks second in receptions (506), first in receiving yards (6,195) and first in touchdown catches (57) over the past five years.

Adams is coming off a 2021 season in which he posted career-high totals in catches (123) and yards (1,553) while finding the end zone 11 times in 16 games.

In December, Rodgers called his favorite target the "best player I've played with," a sentiment the Fresno State product deeply appreciated:

To see that he acknowledges it at that level, there's really not any words I can put together to say how much it means to me. It just continues to push me. I think with certain people, hearing stuff like that, being the best, whether it's in general or the best a certain player of a certain magnitude has played with, there's two responses, typically: You either fall back and get comfortable, because you feel like you've reached a certain point, or it drives you. And I feel like it continues to push me.

Adams has never featured blazing speed by NFL standards—he posted a 4.56-second 40-yard dash at the 2014 Scouting Combine—but his combination of agility, route-running skills and hands have allowed him to build a Hall of Fame resume. Those traits tend to endure, which gives him a great chance to remain a high-impact player well into his 30s.

He's already earned five Pro Bowl appearances and two first-team All-Pro selections across eight seasons with the Packers.

Adams' move to the Raiders marks the second straight offseason one of the top receivers of the generation switched teams. Julio Jones was traded to the Tennessee Titans last year.

Like Jones, it'll take a while to get used to seeing the California native in a new jersey.

The veteran wide receiver will slot in as the top target for Derek Carr alongside wideout Hunter Renfrow and tight end Darren Waller.

Meanwhile, the Packers now have a massive void to fill at wide receiver while still trying to settle the future of Rodgers, who likely won't be happy about his longtime teammate's exit.

The Green Bay Packers notably did not include two-time defending MVP Aaron Rodgers in their announcement that they would be playing a game in London during the 2022 season. 

Star wideout Davante Adams, a free agent, was also left off the promotional picture. 

Rodgers has yet to announce publicly whether he intends to retire or return to playing for the 2022 campaign, and if he chooses the latter, whether it will be with the Packers.

Rodgers ended his holdout with the team ahead of the 2021 season after the 2023 year in his deal was voided and the team reportedly agreed "to review Rodgers' situation at the end of this season," per ESPN's Adam Schefter, leaving open the possibility of a divorce. 

He said last week on the Pat McAfee Show that he hasn't yet made a decision on his future:

The Packers, at least, appear to be bracing for the possibility that he won't be back. 

The Green Bay Packers are keeping their options open regarding free-agent receiver Davante Adams.

General manager Brian Gutekunst told reporters Wednesday the team could let Adams walk in free agency if the two sides can't come to an agreement. 

"Yeah, possibly," Gutekunst said. "There's a lot of things to be determined there."

The team would prefer to agree on a long-term extension, though the franchise tag is a possibility.

"If we need to use it, we certainly will," Gutekunst said of the tag. 

Adams has been one of the top receivers in the NFL in recent seasons, earning first-team All-Pro honors in 2020 and 2021. He finished last year with 123 catches for 1,553 receiving yards—both career highs—on his way to his fifth straight Pro Bowl selection.

The Packers face challenges to retaining the 29-year-old.

Green Bay is $37.7 million over the salary cap for 2022, per Spotrac. Even using the franchise tag on the wide receiver would cost a projected $19.1 million, per Over the Cap.

Gutekunst is seemingly not worried about the cap situation, however, saying the team would be able to keep Adams, quarterback Aaron Rodgers and others.

"I feel very confident about that," he said.

The Packers have until March 8 to place the franchise tag on Adams.

The Green Bay Packers have restructured defensive tackle Kenny Clark's contract, creating $10.9 million worth of cap space, according to Field Yates of ESPN.

Clark had signed a four-year, $70 million extension in 2020. The new deal converts $13.6 million of the 2022 salary into a signing bonus and adds two void years. The 26-year-old was set to have a cap hit of $20.9 million for the upcoming season, per Spotrac.

Green Bay still has work to do, entering the day $48.6 million over the 2022 cap. Only the New Orleans Saints ($76.2 million) have a worse situation.

The Packers' cap situation is especially interesting with Aaron Rodgers' future plans still unknown.

The quarterback could retire, stay with the team or force a trade, all of which would have significant ramifications on the salary cap. The reigning MVP has a $46.7 million cap hit in 2022, and the team could save $19.8 million by trading him this offseason.

Then there's top wideout Davante Adams' free-agent status.

If the two sides can't agree on a new contract—one that could cost well over $20 million per year—the Packers might use the franchise tag, which OverTheCap projects to be $19.1 million.

It puts pressure on the team to figure out plans for other players with high-priced contracts, including Clark, linebacker Za'Darius Smith and offensive tackle David Bakhtiari.

Clark, a 6'3", 314-pound anchor for the defense, earned his second career Pro Bowl selection this past season after finishing with 48 tackles and four sacks.