A family reunion is on the cusps of happening in Gotham City. In the ultimate Hail Mary attempt, the Las Vegas Raiders are trading All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams to the New York Jets, according to NFL Network’s insider Ian Rapoport.
The Jets are reportedly sending back a conditional third-round draft pick that can turn in to a second-round pick if he meets certain conditions such as either becoming a first- or second-team All-Pro this season or on the active roster for the AFC championship game or Super Bowl.
This trade is coming hard and fast, just less than 12 hours after the Jets had an ugly 23-20 loss to their division rival Buffalo Bills on Monday night. It was the team’s first game since firing coach Robert Saleh, and the new energy and presence of the newly named interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich, who also played nine years in the league, as well as new offensive play-caller Todd Downing, was not enough to stop the Jets from making a plethora of back-breaking mistakes.
40-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers noted some of those errors, particularly with his receiving corps, in a somber postgame news conference Monday night.
“You can literally go back to each of those games and look at little details,” Rodgers said. “I’ve got my own criticism to share as well. But a lot of opportunities if we all just do the little things, do the details.”
Adams reportedly touched down in New Jersey on Monday night to help move the trade along, and he had a very familiar face waiting to greet him upon his arrival, Rodgers, who was Adams’ teammate on the Green Bay Packers for years. With the Jets’ offense struggling to find a consistent rhythm, the hope of reuniting Rodgers with one of his most successful on-field partners will do the trick and unlock all the success the organization feels is just out of their reach.
The trade ends an eventful two-plus season tenure for Adams in Las Vegas.
The Raiders traded for Adams services from the Packers during the 2022 offseason, then signed him to a five-year, $140 million contract with $65.7 million in guaranteed money. Las Vegas parted with a first- and second-round pick to acquire Adams, who had emerged as one of the NFL’s best receivers in eight seasons of catching balls from Rodgers.
The deal to Las Vegas reunited Adams with his college quarterback from Fresno State, Derek Carr. Adams was named first-team All-Pro for a third consecutive season in his first season with the Raiders. He was an absolute beast, with 100 catches for 1,516 yards and a league-leading 14 touchdown receptions. Carr benefitted equally, being selected to his first Pro Bowl since 2017 upon Adams’ joining the team. Even with all that excitement, the Raiders finished a disappointing 6-11. They benched Carr for the final two games of the season, avoiding to avoid the possibility of him getting hurt and triggering an injury guarantee on his contract.
Since that time, things have taken a drastic turn for the worst in Las Vegas. The Raiders released Carr the following offseason, and he signed with the New Orleans Saints. After a 3-5 start to the 2023 season, the Raiders fired head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager David Ziegler, who were responsible for the deal to acquire Adams.
Embed from Getty ImagesAntonio Pierce took over as interim coach and was hired full-time this season after leading the Raiders to a 5-4 finish. But the 2024 season is off to a rocky start that includes a blowout 36-22 loss at home to a Carolina Panthers team that had just benched starting quarterback Bryce Young.
The Raiders benched journeyman quarterback Gardner Minshew II two weeks ago in favor of Aidan O’Connell, but the results remained the same after a 32-13 loss to Justin Fields and the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. They rank 27th in the league in total offense and, at 2-4, do not appear anywhere close to contention in the stacked AFC West. They came to a decision that it did not make sense to keep on the roster a 31-year-old, six-time Pro Bowl receiver who is better suited to help a team to get over the top that is ready to win now.
The deal squashes months of round the clock speculation that Adams was on the trade block. General manager Tom Telesco emphatically denied rumors in February that the Raiders were looking to trade Adams. The tone in Las Vegas shifted as the Raiders got off to a slow start.
The beginning of the end occurred when Pierce liked a Sports Illustrated report that went viral on social media in September that the Raiders were actively shopping Adams on the trade market. A day later, Adams said on the Kay Adams podcast ‘Up and Adams’, that he had not heard from Pierce or anybody from the Raiders regarding trade rumors or Pierce’s social media activity.
It turns out that the Raiders were indeed ready and willing to make a deal.
