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Woody Johnson is betting big that Davante Adams can fix the Jets

Woody Johnson is betting big that Davante Adams can fix the Jets

It's no secret that Woody Johnson has been all-in this season.

Tuesday's acquisition of Davante Adams, the star receiver and all-time favorite target of Aaron Rodgers, is evidence that Johnson is doubling down and going ALL-IN.

The Rodgers window, after all, is only open for a limited time – this year and perhaps next year.

With his Jets struggling again, what else is new? – Johnson showed his first sign of panic when he fired head coach Robert Saleh last Tuesday after two straight narrow defeats and a 2-3 record.

The Jets ended up landing Davante Adams. Now comes the hard part. Getty Images

And now, with the Jets falling to 2-4 following Monday night's 23-20 loss to the Bills at MetLife Stadium, the owner claimed another bailout when he gave general manager Joe Douglas the green light to execute the trade for Adams .

It's a long-rumored connection with the Jets and a reunion with Rodgers that's finally becoming a reality.

The Jets are hoping Adams, who turns 32 on Christmas Eve, is just the gift they need to end their 13-year drought without a playoff spot.

The question now is how quickly Adams, who suffered a hamstring injury, can play again.

The Jets would ideally like to face the Steelers in Pittsburgh on Sunday night, in what has become a crucial game that they must win to remain relevant in the AFC East.

Davante Adams #17 of the Las Vegas Raiders attempts to secure a catch in front of Asante Samuel Jr. #26 of the Los Angeles Chargers. Getty Images
Davante Adams #17 congratulates Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers. Getty Images

The price for Adams was a conditional third-round pick in 2025 who can become a second-rounder up to some of his performance metrics, and the Jets will cover the rest of Adams' Raiders salary.

According to ESPN, he is owed nearly $12 million through the end of this season and is under contract through 2025 and 2026, with his annual salary for each of those seasons at about $36 million.

If Adams is the piece Rodgers has been missing and he can help get them back to the playoffs for the first time since 2010, the money spent and the draft pick will prove to be the bargain of the decade for them.


Follow the latest on the New York Jets' trade for star receiver Davante Adams:


Adams was reportedly on a Red Eye flight from Las Vegas to New Jersey around the time Rodgers beat receiver Mike Williams on a desperation pass on third-and-16 that was fended off by the Bills for the Sealing the Jets' fate on Monday night.

Neither this move nor the result of the game triggered this trade, which has been in the works for weeks.

Jets owner Woody Johnson GC images

But the way Rodgers pressured Williams after the two failed to connect in the passing game was — at the very least — a public longing for a reunion with Adams.

Rodgers told reporters in his postgame interview that Williams took the wrong route and went inside when he was supposed to stay outside.

In the replay, it didn't look like Williams was breaking inside. To the naked eye, it looked like Rodgers had subdued him and Williams slipped as he tried to adjust to the ball when Buffalo cornerback Taron Johnson intercepted him.

Whatever the real truth of the piece, Rodgers is a big stickler for detail, nuance and chemistry, and no one has more of those three with him than Adams.

Adams has 890 receptions for 10,990 yards and 96 touchdowns in his career. With Rodgers as his quarterback from 2014 to 2021, he had 615 receptions for 7,529 yards and 68 TDs.

He was selected to the Pro Bowl six times and was first-team All-Pro three times.

Now Adams, who had 18 catches for 209 yards and a TD in three games with the Raiders this season, joins Garrett Wilson, Allen Lazard and Williams in the Jets' receiving corps.

It's fair to wonder what the addition of Adams does to Wilson and the chemistry he's tried to build with Rodgers with mixed results, and Williams, who may be buried (or traded) on the depth chart.

The Jets are coming off a loss to Buffalo in which they were 1-for-4 in the red zone, missed two short field goals and committed 11 penalties for 110 yards.

Things have to get better from now on, right?

Johnson is counting on that.

“He opens everything up, especially the relationship with the quarterback,” Johnson told reporters Tuesday at the NFL fall meetings in Atlanta, while also confirming the deal for Adams. “This is very important.”

The only thing that really “matters” to Jets fans is that this latest desperate move by the desperate owner results in winning games like the one the team lost on Monday night… and the week before Vikings in London…and the Broncos at home the week before.

In fact, you can argue that the Jets have wasted the last three games and lost a total of 10 points. And surely Davante Adams would have made up for at least those 10 points.

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