The Las Vegas Raiders announced Tuesday that they are trading All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams to the New York Jets.
The Jets are sending back a conditional third-round draft pick if he is either first-team All-Pro or second-team All-Pro this season or is on the active roster for the AFC Championship Game or Super Bowl. In that case, it could become a second-round pick.
ESPN reported that Adams has restructured his contract, lowering his salary cap number for the remainder of the season to $3.21 million. According to Spotrac, Adams’ previous salary cap hit was $11.59 million. The report said he has two years left on his restructured contract and that the two sides plan to discuss his long-term future in New York in the offseason.
According to the paper, Adams is scheduled to make his Jets debut Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Adams sat out the Raiders’ final three games with trade rumors surfacing and the team citing a hamstring injury.
The trade came less than 12 hours after the Jets suffered a heartbreaking 23-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Monday night. The game was the team’s first game since firing head coach Robert Saleh, and the presence of newly named interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich and new offensive signal caller Todd Downing will help the Jets It wasn’t enough to stop him from making a costly mistake.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers singled out some of the mistakes, especially from the receiving corps, in a somber postgame press conference Monday night. From Jolie Epstein of Yahoo Sports:
Rodgers led the callout, pointing out that accuracy wasn’t an issue on the last pitch that was intercepted. He expected (Allen) Lazard to be on the seam and Mike Williams on the red line. He threw a no-look pass where Williams intended it, but the receiver ran an in-breaker instead.
The quarterback left no doubt as to whether the receiver ran his intended route.
Rodgers felt this reflected why the Jets had lost three straight by one point.
“You can literally go back to each game and see the details,” Rodgers said. “I would also like to share my own criticisms. But if we all do the little things, the little things, we have a lot of opportunities.”
Adams reportedly arrived in New Jersey on Monday night to facilitate the trade, but there was a very familiar face waiting for him. Rodgers was Adams’ longtime teammate with the Green Bay Packers. With the Jets’ offense struggling, the hope is that reuniting Rodgers with one of his most successful partners on the field can help unlock any success the team feels is out of reach. .
The two appeared together on “The Pat McAfee Show” Tuesday afternoon to talk about the trade.
“I’m back, I’m back,” Adams said.
The trade ends Adams’ tenure in Las Vegas after more than two seasons.
The Raiders acquired Adams from the Packers in a trade during the 2022 offseason, signing him to a five-year, $140 million contract with $65.7 million guaranteed. Las Vegas gave up a first- and second-round pick to acquire Adams, who emerged as one of the NFL’s best receivers in eight seasons catching passes from Rodgers.
The deal with Las Vegas reunited Adams with his former college quarterback Derek Carr from Fresno State. Adams was named first-team All-Pro for the third consecutive year in his first season with the Raiders. He had 100 catches for 1,516 yards and a league-high 14 touchdown receptions. Carr made his first Pro Bowl appearance since Adams joined the team in 2017, but the Raiders finished 6-11. They benched Kerr for the final two games of the season to avoid triggering his contractual injury guarantee.
Things have changed a lot in Las Vegas since then. The Raiders released Carr the following offseason, and he signed with the New Orleans Saints. After starting the 2023 season 3-5, the Raiders fired head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager David Ziegler, who oversaw the signing of Adams.
Antonio Pierce was hired as interim coach and was hired full-time after leading the Raiders to a 5-4 record. However, the 2024 season got off to a rocky start, with a hard loss at home to the Carolina Panthers, who had starting quarterback Bryce Young on the bench.
The Raiders benched journeyman QB Gardner Minshew II in favor of Aidan O’Connell two weeks ago, but their performance didn’t get any better after Sunday’s 32-13 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ta. They rank 27th in the league in total offense, and with 2 wins and 4 losses, they don’t look anywhere near contention. They ultimately decided it didn’t make sense to include the 31-year-old, six-time Pro Bowl receiver, who is better suited to help a team ready to win right now.
The agreement ended months of speculation that Mr. Adams was involved in the trade blockade. General manager Tom Telesco denied rumors in February that the Raiders were considering trading Adams. The mood in Las Vegas has changed after the Raiders got off to a sluggish start.
Pierce liked Sports Illustrated’s September social media report that the Raiders were actively shopping Adams on the trade market. The next day, Adams said he had not heard anything from Pierce or anyone from the Raiders about the trade rumors or Pierce’s social media activity.
It turns out the Raiders were actually ready to make a deal.
