Aaron Rodgers on Davante Adams possibly missing Cardinals game: 'Others guys just got to step up'

There is no sugarcoating the potential loss of Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams for Thursday night’s game against the Arizona Cardinals for Aaron Rodgers.

Not even a 6-0 record without him.

Adams was placed on the Packers’ reserve/COVID-19 list Monday, and protocols require that he test negative twice, 24 hours apart, and be asymptomatic for 48 hours in order to be eligible to play against the 7-0 Cardinals. It’s a tight and unforgiving timetable for a Thursday night game, one that leaves the Packers with little choice but to prepare as though their star wide receiver won’t be available. Under coach Matt LaFleur, the Packers are 6-0 without Adams over the last two years, but that’s of little consolation to his quarterback.

“I don’t know. We’re not a better team without him, that’s for sure. I’d have to look at each of those games, but we just found a way. … Others guys just got to step up,” Rodgers said Tuesday.

The Packers (6-1) will be trying to keep pace with a prolific Cardinals offense that ranks fourth in the NFL at 32.1 points per game. The Packers rank 16th (24 points), and that’s been with Adams enjoying a stellar season.

“There’s a little bit of a shock factor, for sure, when it’s Davante but we dealt with it last year,” Rodgers said of Adams’ placement on the COVID list. “We’re maybe slightly more healthy than some of the other teams as far as not having as many cases, but there have been cases here and we’ve dealt with ’em. But when I heard (Adams’ No.) 17, I was hoping that it was going to be one of those false positives for sure.”

Without Adams, the Packers would have to rely more heavily on receivers Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb, as well as tight end Robert Tonyan. Still, Adams has been targeted more times this season (73) than those three players combined (64), so the adjustment for Rodgers would be a big one.

“It is good to get those guys going, that was important I think for both of their confidence,” Rodgers said of Lazard and Tonyan. “Not that it wavered, but it’s always good to be able to ball out like that and then be able to watch that back. … We still have a lot of talent in the backfield, and a lot of guys who can get open. So we just got to keep finding a way to get ’em open and hopefully we’ll get (No.) 17 back after this.”

The Packers hope for wideout Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s return from a hamstring injury Thursday, as well.

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