close
close

The Raiders are reportedly trading All-Pro WR Davante Adams to the Jets, ending months of trade speculation

The Raiders are reportedly trading All-Pro WR Davante Adams to the Jets, ending months of trade speculation

Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams (17) leaves the field after an NFL football game against the Houston Texans on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Davante Adams is done with the Raiders after more than two seasons in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

The Las Vegas Raiders are reportedly trading All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams to the New York Jets, less than 24 hours after the Jets suffered an embarrassing 23-20 loss at home to the Buffalo Bills.

The move ends a more than two-year tenure for Adams in Las Vegas.

The Raiders traded Adams from the Green Bay Packers in the 2022 offseason, then signed him to a five-year, $140 million contract with $65.7 million guaranteed. Las Vegas parted with a first- and second-round pick and acquired Adams, who had developed into one of the NFL's best receivers during eight seasons of catching passes from Aaron Rodgers.

The deal reunited Adams with his college quarterback from Fresno State, Derek Carr. 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 the Pro Bowl for the first time since 2017 following Adams' arrival, but the Raiders finished 6-11. They benched Carr for the final two games of the season, preventing an injury guarantee on his contract from coming into effect.

Things have changed significantly in Las Vegas since then. 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 oversaw the deal to acquire Adams.

Antonio Pierce took over as interim coach and was hired permanently after leading the Raiders to a 5-4 record. But the 2024 season got off to a tumultuous start, including a tough home loss to a Carolina Panthers team that had just benched starting quarterback Bryce Young.

With Gardner Minshew at quarterback and Las Vegas ranking in the bottom half of the league in both offense and defense, the Raiders don't appear to be anywhere near competitive. Ultimately, they concluded it made no sense to bring in a 31-year-old, six-time Pro Bowl receiver who would be better suited to help a team that is now poised to win.

The deal ends months of speculation that Adams was involved in the trade bloc. General manager Tom Telesco denied rumors in February that the Raiders wanted to trade Adams. But the tone in Las Vegas changed when the Raiders got off to a poor start.

Pierce liked a Sports Illustrated report on social media in September that the Raiders were actively acquiring Adams on the trade market. A day later, Adams said he had not heard from Pierce or anyone at the Raiders about trade rumors or Pierce's social media activity.

It turns out the Raiders were actually willing to make a deal.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *