The Raiders purchased receiver Davante Adams’ contract for two weeks. On Tuesday, the Jets finalized a deal that sends him from the 2-4 Raiders to the 2-4 Jets.
During the league’s quarterly meeting in Atlanta, owner Mark Davis discussed his decision to move on from Adams in his 37th game with the team.
“it’s part of football life” Davis said on TheAthletic.com. “Players come and go, and if things don’t go well, they don’t go well. (GM) Tom Telesco did a great job today to help us move forward into the future with as few distractions as possible. Ta.”
The word “distracting” suggests that recent reports that the Raiders may keep Adams until the end of the year were nothing more than an effort to squeeze the best possible trade terms from his new team. It emphasizes reality.
Davis certainly wasn’t happy with the prospect of paying Adams $983,333 per week for not playing, but Davis said he left it up to Telesco and coach Antonio Pierce to handle the situation.
“I will leave those decisions up to the general manager and head coach,” Davis said. “They make the football decisions. I may consult with them and play devil’s advocate many times, but they make the decisions and they make the final decisions.”
In the end, the Raiders did not receive any of Adams’ remaining salary. Because of that, they couldn’t ensure they got the second-round pick they coveted for Adams — a second-round pick that would have made him a first-team All-Pro or a second-team All-Pro. It can only be obtained if
Considering he’s already missed three games this year, he’ll need to put in huge numbers over the final 11 games to make the All-Pro team. He has 18 catches for 209 yards and one touchdown so far in 2024. This left him tied for 76th in the league in receptions nine-way. He ranks 70th in receiving yards.
In the end, the Raiders gave up a first-round pick and a second-round pick for Adams, but only got a third back. They also paid him over $55 million for 37 games in Las Vegas.
Along the way, they never made the playoffs, amassing a 16-24 record during Adams’ tenure with the team.
Still, today’s deals count as lemonade and chicken salad. The team was scheduled to continue paying him $983,333 per week for 12 weeks, with the cut scheduled to be made before the start of the 2025 league year, when he would have been paid a hefty $35.64 million.
