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Davante Adams is on the move in a trade that could tip the scales in the AFC playoff race.
The New York Jets announced Tuesday that they acquired the standout wide receiver from the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for a conditional draft pick. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the Jets are shipping a 2025 third-round pick to the Raiders that can become a second-rounder if certain performance benchmarks are met.
According to Schefter, the Raiders “are not paying any” of Adams’ remaining salary in the deal, though NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Adams and the Jets have agreed to a contract restructure for 2024 that will lessen his cap hit.
Schefter later reported Adams is planning to make his debut with the team on Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers after recovering from a hamstring injury.
Adams’ long-term future in Las Vegas was a storyline throughout the offseason until his agents went on the record to address “baseless, unfounded speculation” and affirm his commitment to the Raiders.
It took four games and a 2-2 start for things to shift dramatically.
On Oct. 1, NFL Network’s Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported Adams told the team he’d like to be traded. Schefter quickly followed up to add that Las Vegas would “consider” a swap and needed a second-round pick plus other pieces.
The trade is unlikely to be a popular one among Raiders fans. Milwaukee Bucks star Damian Lillard, a longtime follower of the franchise, made his opinion clear when the rumors first broke:
This outcome may have been inevitable, though.
Wide receivers are getting paid larger and larger sums of money, but there are still limits to how much they can single-handedly influence a game. In the case of Adams, his arrival didn’t automatically make the Raiders a playoff team. They finished with a losing record in each of his first two years and are on pace to do the same in 2024.
Starting next year, Las Vegas was going to have to think long and hard about whether it wanted to keep Adams anyway. He makes a base salary of $35.6 million in 2025 and 2026 and carries a $44.1 million cap hit for those two seasons, and those are large figures for a team this far from contention.
Adams’ production isn’t trending in the right direction, either.
The 31-year-old was an All-Pro in 2022, catching 100 passes for 1,516 yards and an NFL-high 14 touchdowns. Since then, he’s averaging fewer than 12 yards per catch and 70 yards per game. The latter in particular is well below his peak years with the Green Bay Packers.
Maybe that’s largely down the Raiders’ inconsistent play at quarterback, but even elite receivers don’t always age gracefully. The warning signs were clearly there if a change of scenery fails to bring a bump to Adams’ stats.
In general, Las Vegas made a big miscalculation when it acquired the decorated pass-catcher from Green Bay. The general manager and head coach responsible for that trade are gone, and the current regime took a long-term view when it evaluated the roster in the offseason.
Dealing Adams aligns much better with the Raiders’ new organizational priorities.
Once a trade looked like a strong possibility, the Jets were one of his more obvious landing spots since he has an existing rapport with quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
The fit isn’t perfect in New York, though, given how crowded the team’s receiving corps becomes now.
The Jets continue to wait for Garrett Wilson to make his full breakthrough, yet you’d assume the 24-year-old is still positioned as an important piece for the future. Mike Williams and Allen Lazard are also on the roster.
Somebody from that group will inevitably get marginalized in the passing game with Adams coming aboard, and that could present a delicate situation for the coaching staff to manage.
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