Autorzy: Dianna Russini, Zack Rosenblatt, Tashan Reed, Vic Tafur i Jake Ciely
Just a week after the New York Jets made a head coaching change by firing Robert Saleh five games into his fourth season, the team made its second significant move, acquiring winger Davante Adams from the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday, according to league sources.
According to these sources, the Raiders will receive a conditional third-round pick that could become a second-round pick depending on Adams' performance. Specifically, a conditional third-rounder becomes a second-rounder if Adams makes first- or second-team All-Pro or if Adams is on the active roster for the AFC Championship Game or Super Bowl, a league source said.
According to a team source, the Raiders are not paying Adams' base salary. His remaining base salary is approximately $11.59 million per cap hit.
Most of the deal was agreed upon before the Jets played Liverpool Bills Buffalo on Monday, and Adams flew to New Jersey that evening, league sources said.
The move reunites Adams with quarterback Aaron Rodgers. While playing for the Football Team, the two formed one of the most prolific quarterback-receiver duos of the last decade with the Green Bay Packers. In 2014, as a rookie, Adams caught Rodgers' 200th touchdown pass. He also caught Rodgers' 400th touchdown pass in 2020. Together, over their eight years with the Packers, they scored 67 other touchdowns and totaled 622 passes for 7,590 yards in 108 games.
This move appears to have been in the works since the Jets acquired Rodgers from Green Bay in April 2023. When the quarterback arrived, he mentioned Adams as one of the players he would like to add to the Jets, along with several other players. former Packers (e.g. signed Allen Lazard and Randall Cobbako) and Odell Beckham Jr. It didn't materialize at the time, but when Adams' luck in Las Vegas fell apart and he requested a trade in recent weeks, the Jets came out on top.
“He makes me feel better,” Rodgers told ESPN in 2020, “as a person and as a quarterback.”
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Adams, 31, a six-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro, remains elite, as evidenced by his nine catches and 110-yard outburst during the Raiders' Week 2 in Baltimore. But his best years came when Rodgers was throwing him the ball. Behind the scenes, Rodgers urged the Jets to acquire Adams, and general manager Joe Douglas called the Raiders at multiple points – last year, in the offseason, around the trade deadline – to make sure, but Las Vegas had no interest in moving him.
Adams was frustrated with the Raiders' quarterback play last season – he slammed his helmet on the turf in Monday's game and said Jimmy Garoppolo was going to kill him in the Netflix documentary “The Receiver.” Sources say he was nervous when the coaching staff visited Gardner Minshew Aidan O'Connell as the starter to open this season; Adams thought O'Connell, who replaced Minshew at the top of the depth chart in Week 6, was the better passer.
Back in July, Adam said he was a “fresh slate,” but was he there? He left the Raiders during training camp to celebrate the birth of his first son, and although the team thought it would only be a few days, Adams was gone for 10. When he returned, he said he didn't want to play in a second preseason game. Pierce said everyone healthy would play, but Adams didn't suit up because of an injury.
As it turns out, Pierce was surprised when Adams called a meeting with the coach on September 30, league sources say. Adams told Pierce he wanted to be traded to a better team. The Raiders told Adams they would grant his wish because they didn't want players who didn't want to be there.
Last week, Pierce was asked where things were going with Adams.
“I don't know,” Pierce said. “I think you need to ask Davante about that.”
When Las Vegas sent the Packers first- and second-round picks in 2022, the team was losing a playoff spot and thought Adams had given the team a shot at the Super Bowl. Since then, the Raiders are 16-24, and last October they fired their general manager (Dave Ziegler) and head coach (Josh McDaniels), who were on the job when Adams arrived. The main reason Adams wanted to play with the Raiders at all was to reunite with Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr. The two played in 15 games together in 2022, with Adams scoring a career-high 180 targets while leading the league in touchdowns (15) and finishing second in career receiving yards (1,516). However, the Raiders released Carr, opting to start the 2023 season with Garoppolo. Garoppolo, McDaniels' chosen quarterback, was benched last season and was fired in March.
Adams has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury – his last start for the team ended in a loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 3. The Raiders' top three receivers will be Jak Meyers, Tre Tucker AND DJ Turner.
The stumbling block to trading Adams was the Raiders' insistence on getting their second-round draft pick back (which they did) and the acquiring team paying Adams' entire remaining salary for 2024 (which they did not do). The New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers also inquired about acquiring the star receiver while the Bills monitored the situation.
When Adams became officially available, the Jets expressed interest almost immediately, although there was some reticence due to the financial aspect of the deal.
On the field, Adams' prowess is obvious and reasonable, but it would be a stretch to say he will solve all of the Jets' problems, even if he pairs with Garrett Wilson to form one of the NFL's most talented wide receiver duos.
In 2020 — Rodgers' first back-to-back MVP seasons — Adams told ESPN that Rodgers “is the best quarterback in the NFL, and I'm the best wide receiver in the NFL. And the way we gallop, I don't think anyone else does it like we do.
However, Rodgers is no longer the best quarterback in the NFL. In the fifth week in London he had his worst game as Jeti had one of the worst of his career. It was the first time he had thrown two interceptions in the first quarter and only the sixth time in 235 games that he had thrown three interceptions in a game. He still shows flashes of his trademark arm talent and playmaking ability on the move, but he's been banged up — he suffered a sprained ankle in a Week 5 loss to the Vikings — and he's playing his age at times.
Jets bring in first (interim) head coach in Jeff Ulbrich. There's a tough stretch of the schedule coming up; following Monday's home loss to the Bills, they will travel to Pittsburgh in Week 7, and after a trip to Foxboro, they will host a Thursday night home game against Houston, Texas on the short week.
Adams, Rodgers and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett enjoyed great success together in Green Bay in the 2019-2021 season, but Packers coach Matt LaFleur was also part of that calculation, not Hackett, and Hackett, while still on staff, is no longer calling plays Jets. Ulbrich stripped Hackett of play-calling duties and replaced him with passing game coordinator Todd Downing, who was the Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator in 2021-22. Downing's first game as offensive coordinator was Monday night against the Bills, and the offense looked better but was far from elite.
There is also the Wilson case. The young Jets star had a slow start to the season and looked visibly frustrated after failing to establish chemistry with Rodgers in the first four games. How will a young receiver who doesn't hide his emotions and frustrations feel when Rodgers' best friend joins the team and becomes his favorite target?
Of course, Adams joining the fray should make Wilson's life easier, especially since defenses will no longer be able to focus all their attention on one attacker. Wilson has struggled through four games to win duels against opposing No. 1 corners. Teams can no longer double Wilson if Adams is on the other side, and Rodgers always says he will throw the ball to whoever is open. Wilson, however, will not be the Jets' starting receiver while Adams is on the team and Rodgers is the quarterback, and Wilson will be eligible for a contract extension for the first time this coming offseason. This is a situation and relationship worth observing.
Ultimately, Adams improves the Jets offense. Wilson, Adams, Lazard and Mike Williams form a wide receiver quartet with significant potential. With quality running back pairing Sal Breece and rookie Braelon Allen and solid play from tight end Tyler Conklin, the Jets have the pieces for a high-powered offense.
Plus, Rodgers is 16 career touchdowns shy of 500. Now Adams can catch it, too.
The influence of fantasy
The Adams trade is good news for Rodgers, but bad news for Wilson. In Week 5, Wilson's outrageous 22 targets became the second-lowest total yardage (101) for any player with over 20 targets in a game (since 2000). Wilson saw 10 more targets in Week 6, and now Adams will be Rodgers' best option.
Lazard and his relationship with Rodgers – especially in the red zone – won't go away either. This means that Adams is the new No. 1, and Wilson and Lazard are fighting for the No. 2 spot – similar to the battle in Seattle between Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigby.
Wilson and Lazard are WR3 after Adams' arrival, and Lazard now has a higher ceiling with a top touchdown. Adams is a mid-to-high WR2 with WR1 potential. — Jake Ciely, senior fantasy writer
(Top photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
