Receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling signing 3-year deal with Kansas City Chiefs
Tom Silverstein
GREEN BAY – The Green Bay Packers made a last-minute run at re-signing free agent receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, but he decided to accept a better offer.
Valdes-Scantling will be signing a three-year, $30 million deal with the Kansas City Chiefs, a source confirmed Thursday.
The move will help the Chiefs offset the loss of Tyreek Hill in a trade with the Miami Dolphins.
The Packers, from the start of free agency, were expecting Valdes-Scantling to sign with another team, mostly because they couldn’t fit his expected salary into their cap. But the Davante Adams trade cleared $20 million in salary-cap space, and allowed the Packers to re-sign free-agent cornerback Rasul Douglas and tight end Robert Tonyan.
In four seasons, Valdes-Scantling has 123 catches for 2,153 yards (17.5-yard average) and 13 touchdowns. He had seven drops in 2020 but he had just one last season.
According to a source, Valdes-Scantling was seeking a one-year deal worth between $7-10 million but assumed it could be structured with voidable years to save a team cap space. The Packers were just barely under the cap and would have had trouble signing anyone before the Adams deal surfaced.
More: Packers re-signing free-agent cornerback Rasul Douglas, tight end Robert Tonyan
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It’s unclear if the Packers were outbid or Valdes-Scantling was just seeking a new start.
MVS bid farewell to Packers fans on Instagram:
Getting Valdes-Scantling back would have given Rodgers a third receiver who knows him and the offense well. The Packers retained restricted free agent Allen Lazard and hung onto receiver Randall Cobb, who accepted a $5.8 million pay cut to return.
As a result of the trade for Adams, they have four of the first 60 selections in the NFL draft, including two first-round picks (Nos. 22 and 28), so there’s a good chance they will be able to address their receiver need in the draft.
Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette contributed.