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

The Las Vegas Raiders are trading All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams to the New York Jets, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

The Jets are reportedly sending back a conditional third-round draft pick that can become a second-round pick if he’s either a first- or second-team All-Pro this season or on the active roster for the AFC championship game or Super Bowl.

This trade comes less than 12 hours after the Jets delivered an ugly 23-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Monday night. It was the team’s first game since firing head coach Robert Saleh, and the presence of the newly named interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich, as well as new offensive signal-caller Todd Downing, wasn’t enough to stop the Jets from making costly mistakes.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers pointed out some of those errors, particularly with his receiving corps, in a somber postgame news conference Monday night. From Yahoo Sports’ Jori Epstein:

Adams reportedly arrived in New Jersey on Monday night to help facilitate the trade, and he had a very familiar face waiting for him: Rodgers, who was Adams’ teammate on the Green Bay Packers for years. With the Jets’ offense struggling, the hope is that reuniting Rodgers with one of his most successful on-field partners will help unlock all the success the team feels is just out of their reach.

The duo appeared together Tuesday afternoon on “The Pat McAfee Show” and spoke about the trade.

“We’re back, man, we’re back,” Adams said.

The trade ends a two-plus season tenure for Adams in Las Vegas.

The Raiders traded for Adams from the Packers during the 2022 offseason, then signed him to a five-year, $140 million contract with $65.7 million in guaranteed money. Las Vegas parted with a first- and second-round pick to acquire Adams, who had emerged as one of the NFL’s best receivers in eight seasons of catching passes from Rodgers.

The deal to Las Vegas reunited Adams with his college quarterback from Fresno State, Derek Carr. Adams was named first-team All-Pro for a third consecutive season in his first season with the Raiders. He tallied 100 catches for 1,516 yards and a league-high 14 touchdown receptions. Carr made his first Pro Bowl since 2017 upon Adams’ arrival, but the Raiders finished 6-11. They benched Carr for the final two games of the season, avoiding triggering an injury guarantee on his contract.

Since then, things have changed significantly in Las Vegas. 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 full-time after leading the Raiders to a 5-4 finish. But the 2024 season is off to a tumultuous start that includes a blowout loss at home to a Carolina Panthers team that had just benched starting quarterback Bryce Young.

The Raiders benched journeyman quarterback Gardner Minshew II two weeks ago in favor of Aidan O’Connell, but the results did not get any better after a 32-13 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. They rank 27th in the league in total offense and, at 2-4, don’t appear anywhere close to contention. They ultimately decided that it didn’t make sense to roster a 31-year old, six-time Pro Bowl receiver who’s better suited to help a team that’s ready to win now.

The deal concludes months of speculation that Adams was on the trade block. General manager Tom Telesco denied rumors in February that the Raiders were looking to trade Adams. The tone in Las Vegas shifted as the Raiders got off to a poor start.

Pierce liked a Sports Illustrated report on social media in September that the Raiders were actively shopping Adams on the trade market. A day later, Adams said that he hadn’t heard from Pierce or anybody from the Raiders regarding trade rumors or Pierce’s social media activity.

It turns out that the Raiders were indeed ready to make a deal.