Philadelphia Eagles: A trade for Davante Adams is incredibly unlikely

440.

That’s how many more yards the Philadelphia Eagles‘ entire wide receiving corps had than Devante Adams recorded for the Green Bay Packers.

That’s… wow.

Now granted, with context, those numbers aren’t as bad as they initially seem. 23 percent of the Eagles’ receiving yards total came via Dallas Goedert, who outperformed the Packers’ top tight end, Josiah Deguara, by a margin of 830-245, and Green Bay had the benefit of having Aaron Rodgers under center, as opposed to a second-year quarterback still trying to find his footing at the NFL level.

Still, after watching the Birds’ receiving corps fail to produce a 1,000-yard receiver for the seventh-straight season – even if DeVonta Smith came closer than most – it’s hard not to look around the rest of the league, especially with free agency forthcoming, and wish Howie Roseman would land a premier performer.

The good news? Despite a rapidly contracting free agent market of premier pass-catchers, Adams has voiced his displeasure with the long-term offers the Green Bay Packers have offered him and might opt to hold out if he has to play on the franchise tag. Assuming the two sides can’t reach an agreement, conventional wisdom would suggest the Green Bay front office may be willing to listen to offers for their premier wide receiver.

The bad news? The chances of the Philadelphia Eagles actually landing Davante Adams this spring are infinitesimal.

It’s hard to imagine a world where Davante Adams would accept a trade to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Davante and DeVonta; a pairing that would be as fun to watch as it would be tricky to type. If the Philadelphia Eagles could somehow snatch away Adams from the Green Bay Packers, they would easily have the best wide receiving corps in the NFC East, especially now that Amari Cooper is a member of the Cleveland Browns, and have a puncher’s chance at the best trio in the NFC, period.

With five picks in the top-100 and more than a few intriguing trade chips like Andre Dillard, who could tickle an opposing team’s fancy, if the Packers were to auction off Adams to the highest bidder, one would be hard-pressed to find an offer better than what the Eagles could put on the table.

The problem? Why would Adams want to play for the Eagles – or most teams in the NFL really – when his best chance to become a Super Bowl champion is in Green Bay? I mean, think about it; Adams is threatening a holdout because he wants to get paid more than the Packers are willing to pay. He doesn’t necessarily want out of Green Bay per se, as his quarterback is back and his team is a favorite to win its division, but he’d be willing to forgo summer activities and even potentially regular season games if it helps to put some heat on Brian Gutekunst’s seat and helps to secure the bag.

If, however, Gutekunst opts to call his bluff and solicit trade offers before the draft, Adams would surely be informed about what teams are in the running, as, again, the two parties both want to remain together this fall, just at vastly different cap hits. If a team like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were to go all-in on unretired Tom Brady and offered the farm, then I could see Adams saying something to the effect of “trade me, or I don’t play all year,” and the Packers would move forward with a free agent addition and a premier receiver selected in the draft. But if, instead, a team like the Washington Commanders, New York Giants, or even the Philadelphia Eagles were to have the high offer on the table, Adams may find some newfound motivation to come to a deal with the team that drafted him, even if it meant taking a little off the top.

Unfortunate? For Eagles fans, certainly, but hey, when this sort of quasi holdout goes down, you don’t want to be the team used as leverage.

As tough as it may be to admit, the Philadelphia Eagles are not the top landing spot for premier free agent – or trade candidate – wide receivers. Jalen Hurts doesn’t have a reputation for being a prolific passer, Nick Sirianni’s offense doesn’t have a super expansive track record, and the team is expected to finish out the season right around the middle of the pack. While that doesn’t mean the team won’t leave the month of March with a fun new receiver under contract, as the buzz around JuJu Smith-Schuster continues to grow, it’s hard to imagine a player of Davante Adams’ caliber forcing his way out to Philly just yet.