Packers GM: We'll be competitive with or without Rodgers, Adams

Brian Gutekunst expects the Green Bay Packers to hold steady in 2022 even if offensive stars Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams are out of the picture.

"We're gonna field a competitive team regardless," the general manager said Wednesday. "We're the Green Bay Packers, and I think we have a really good football team in front of us. Those are elite players, and whenever you have elite players, you feel good about that. You may have to do things (in) different ways if those hypotheticals come into play. We'll see where it goes. I like the nucleus and the core foundation of our football team."

The Packers won 13 games for the third consecutive year in 2021, but they head into the offseason with salary-cap problems and roster uncertainty after fizzling out in the playoffs.

Rodgers, the MVP quarterback, is contemplating retirement. He's scheduled to count for over $46 million against the cap if he returns. Green Bay could use the franchise tag on Adams, its All-Pro wide receiver who's a pending free agent, but the move would cost over $19 million.

The Packers must also trim salary to get under the cap by mid-March when the new league year begins. They have 15 players on track to hit unrestricted free agency, including Adams and key contributors De'Vondre Campbell, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Rasul Douglas.

Gutekunst said he plans to rely on a mixture of restructures and releases to balance the budget and won't shed a bunch of players even if Rodgers and Adams walk away.

"We'll move through that as we go through it, but we have a lot of different options and depending on where we head, but this isn't a fire sale where we're cutting a bunch of guys," he said.

Gutekunst noted that the organization hasn't given Rodgers a deadline to make up his mind on retirement. Rodgers previously said he expects he'll make a decision shortly.

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