Just a little more than a month after Davante Adams dismissed the notion he was dissatisfied with the Las Vegas Raiders, the three-time All-Pro wide receiver and his soon-to-be former team are splitting.
Now, he’ll be making a highly anticipated reunion with a former teammate.
The Raiders on Tuesday were working to finalize a trade of Adams to the New York Jets, ending the franchise’s ill-fated run with its former marquee acquisition and setting the receiver up to team back up with quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Jets are expected to send back a conditional third-round pick that could become a second-rounder if Adams is first- or second-team All-Pro selection or is on the team’s active roster for an AFC championship game or Super Bowl appearance, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported.
The move comes just one day after the Jets, who fired coach Robert Saleh last Tuesday, dropped to 2-4 with a loss to the Buffalo Bills.
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Adams informed the Raiders on Sept. 30 that he preferred to be traded rather than remain with the team, according to multiple reports. The Raiders had previously resisted any inquiries regarding a possible deal but were willing to listen to offers after Adams’ request, according to multiple reports.
Adams, 31, joined the Raiders in 2022 after a prolific eight-year start to his career with the Green Bay Packers. He sought to be reunited with his close friend and former Fresno State teammate Derek Carr, and Las Vegas gave up one first-round pick and one second-round pick to pair the two together.
The connection would last just one season, however, as Carr was benched toward the end of the 2022 season and later released.
The following season would bring more turmoil to Las Vegas, as coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler were fired at midseason after a 3-5 start. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was replaced by rookie Aidan O’Connell as the starter, and Adams posted his lowest totals for receiving yards (1,114) and touchdowns catches (eight) since his injury-shortened 2019 campaign.
This summer, a clip of Adams ranting during a Week 6 game against the New England Patriots was released as part of the Netflix documentary series ‘Receiver.’ Adams said, ‘I gotta get the (expletive) out of here before I lose my (expletive) life.’
Despite that and former NFL wide receiver DeSean Jackson claiming the six-time Pro Bowl selection was dissatisfied, Adams maintained prior to this season that there was no truth to rumors of his unhappiness.
‘Everybody wants to see what Davante Adams got to say, and, you know, he’s pissed off in Vegas,’ Adams said on Sept. 4. ‘If I was pissed off, I mean, I wouldn’t be here right now.’
By Oct. 1, however, Adams’ tone appeared to have changed. On the ‘Up & Adams’ show, he was asked about whether he had played his final down for the Raiders.
‘All I can control is this talk we’re having right here,’ Adams said. ‘After we’re done with this, all I can control is the next thing that I’m on to. I’m going to get up in a minute and get a nice workout in, and that’s all I can control.’
Davante Adams, Aaron Rodgers reunited
At a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, this July, Rodgers sparked intrigue when he was asked about Raiders offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and added, “And I love Davante. I can’t wait to play with him again.”
Adams later acknowledged on ‘Up & Adams’ that Rodgers had broached the possibility of teaming up again.
“He’s in the ear, that’s for sure, he’s in the ear,” Adams said. “But it’s not as easy. Obviously, we can get together and talk about the old times and the potential of doing this and that, but like I said, I’m a Raider, and he knows that.”
Adams earned five of his six Pro Bowl nods during his eight-year run with the Packers, during which he and Rodgers connected for 615 catches, 7,529 yards and 68 touchdowns.
On the Jets, he will be counted on to quickly re-establish his rapport with the veteran quarterback. While wide receiver Garrett Wilson posted a season-high 107 yards in Monday’s loss to the Bills, the Jets’ receiving corps has otherwise struggled to establish any consistency. Rodgers blamed free-agent signing Mike Williams for running the wrong route on the late fourth-quarter interception that sealed the defeat to Buffalo.
Davante Adams’ contract
Adams’ base salary for this season is $16.89 million, with the bulk of it still owed to him. The Jets will have to pay the remaining balance of his salary, Schefter reported.
In 2025 and 2026, however, Adams’ salary is set to jump to more than $35 million each year, with cap hits north of $44 million. Though that money is not guaranteed, the structure likely necessitates a restructuring of the five-year, $140 million deal Adams signed after joining the Raiders.
Davante Adams stats
In 11 seasons, Adams has established himself as one of the NFL’s most consistent pass catchers. Among players currently on active rosters, he ranks fourth in career receptions (890) and receiving yards (10,990). He ranks 13th all-time in touchdown catches (96), trailing only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Mike Evans among active players.
In 2024, Adams has 18 catches for 209 yards and one touchdown in three games. He has missed the Raiders’ last three games with a hamstring injury.
(This story has been updated with new information.)