Diana Russini, Zach Rosenblatt, Dashan Reed, Vic Duffer and Jake Seely
A week after the New York Jets replaced head coach Robert Saleh five games into his fourth season, the team made a second significant move, acquiring wide receiver Davante Adams from the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday, according to league sources.
According to those sources, the Raiders will receive a conditional third-round pick based on Adams’ performance. Specifically, a league source said a conditional third-rounder would become a second-rounder if Adams makes first-team or second-team All-Pro, or if Adams is on the active roster for the AFC Championship Game or Super Bowl.
According to a team source, the Raiders did not pay Adams his base salary. His remaining base salary is about $11.59 million per over the cap.
Most of the trade was agreed to before the Jets’ game against the Buffalo Bills on Monday, and Adams flew to New Jersey that night, league sources said.
The move reunites Adams with quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The two formed one of the most prolific quarterback-wide receiver duos of the past decade while playing for the Green Bay Packers. As a rookie in 2014, Adams caught Rodgers’ 200th touchdown pass. In 2020, he also caught Rodgers’ 400th touchdown pass. Over eight years with the Packers, they combined for 67 other touchdowns — and a total of 622 completions for 7,590 yards in 108 games.
It feels like it’s been in the works since the Jets acquired Rodgers from Green Bay in April 2023. When the quarterback arrived, he listed Adams as one of the players he wanted the Jets to add. Former Packers (like Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb, who they signed) and Odell Beckham Jr. That didn’t work out, but Adams’ happiness in Las Vegas has soured and he’s requested a trade in recent weeks, with the Jets pouncing. to the front.
“I’m fine with him,” Rodgers told ESPN in 2020. “As a person and as a quarterback.”
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A six-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro, Adams, 31, is among the elite, as evidenced by his nine-catch outing for 110-yards in the Raiders’ Week 2 upset in Baltimore. But his best years came when Rodgers bowled him. Behind the scenes, Rodgers pushed the Jets to acquire Adams, and general manager Joe Douglas called the Raiders at several points — last year’s trade deadline, this offseason — to check but Las Vegas showed no interest in moving him.
After the deal, Jets owner Woody Johnson cited Adams’ experience with Rodgers as a motivation to complete the deal.
“We know they played together,” Johnson said. “I think anybody would be interested in watching this man. He has proven talent, that’s for sure.
Johnson said Adams “adds everything” to the Jets offense and said the receiver’s relationship with Rodgers is “very important.”
The owner explained his rationale for his squad’s massive changes in recent weeks and how he hopes it will change the course of their 2024 season.
“The thinking is overblown,” Johnson said when asked how quickly he thinks the Jets can turn their season around. “You’ve got to look forward. You’ve got to look forward to the games we’re going to play every week and try to win them all. It’s the basics.”
Johnson quoted a line from the movie “Talladega Nights” spoken to Will Ferrell’s character Ricky Bobby.
Remember the scene where he said, “You’re not a thinker, you’re a driver.” right? And a lot of times, you have to go with your gut and what’s the best thing to build a winning team, but more importantly build a winning culture. Based on what I saw yesterday, I think we are starting in a new and exciting direction.
Adams was frustrated with the play of the Raiders’ quarterback last season — slamming his helmet to the turf in Monday night’s game and saying Jimmy Garoppolo was going to kill him in the Netflix documentary “Receiver.” Sources say he was upset when the coaching staff went with Gardner Minshew over Aidan O’Connell as the starter this season; Adams felt O’Connell was the better passer, replacing Minshew on the depth chart in Week 6.
In July, Adams said there was a “new slate,” but was it? He left the Raiders during training camp for the birth of his first son, and when the team thought it would only be for two days, Adams was gone by age 10. When he came back, he said he didn’t want to play. In the second season game. Pierce said everyone healthy will play, but Adams didn’t suit up because of soreness.
Pierce was surprised when Adams called a meeting with the coach on Sept. 30, according to league sources. Adams told the Bears 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.
Pierce was asked last week where things went with Adams.
“I don’t know,” Pierce said. “I think you’ll have to ask Davante about that.”
When Las Vegas sent first- and second-round picks to the Packers in 2022, it was coming off a playoff berth, and Adams thought he gave the team a shot at the Super Bowl. Since then the Raiders have gone 16-24 and fired the general manager (Dave Ziegler) and head coach (Josh McDaniels) that were in place when Adams arrived last October. A big reason Adams wanted to play with the Raiders in the first place was to reunite with his quarterback at Fresno State, Derek Carr. The two played 15 games together in 2022, and Adams saw a career-high 180 targets, leading the league in receiving touchdowns (15) and second in his career (1,516). But the Raiders released Carr and chose to go with Garoppolo to start 2023. Garoppolo, McDaniels’ quarterback choice, was benched last season and released in March.
Adams has missed the past three games with a hamstring injury — his last snap coming against the Carolina Panthers in Week 3. The Raiders’ top three receivers Jacoby Meyers, Trey Tucker and DJ Turner will step up.
Retaining any Adams trade would be insistence that the Raiders return a second-round pick (which they compromised) and the acquiring team pay Adams’ remaining 2024 salary (which they didn’t). The New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers have also inquired about acquiring the star receiver, and the Bills are monitoring the situation.
Once Adams was officially available, the Jets expressed interest almost immediately, despite some backlash due to the financial aspect of the trade.
On the field, Adams’ fit is obvious and intuitive, but even though he pairs with Garrett Wilson as one of the NFL’s most efficient wide receiver duos, it would be a stretch to say he solves all of the Jets’ problems.
In 2020 — Rodgers’ first MVP season — 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 hustle, I don’t think anybody else does it like we do.
But Rodgers is no longer the best quarterback in the NFL. He had his worst game as a Jet in Week 5 in London, and one of the worst games of his career, the first time he threw two interceptions in the first quarter and the sixth time in 235 games that he threw three interceptions in a game. . He’s still showing flashes of his signature dexterity and ability to make plays on the move, but he’s been on the field — he sprained a low ankle in Week 5 against the Vikings — and is playing his age at times.
The Jets are breaking out a first-time (interim) head coach in Jeff Ulbricht. They have a tough stretch of schedule coming up; After Monday’s home loss to the Bills, they head to Pittsburgh in Week 7 and have a Thursday night home game against the Houston Texans on a short week after a trip to Foxboro.
Adams, Rodgers and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett combined for great success in Green Bay in 2019-21, but in that calculus Packers coach Matt LaFleur calls the plays, not Hackett — and Hackett, while on the staff, no longer calls the plays. Jets. Ulbricht relieved Hackett of play-calling duties and replaced him with Todd Downing, the Tennessee Titans’ offensive coordinator, as game coordinator in 2021-22. Downing’s first game as offensive coordinator was Monday night against the Bills, and the offense was good, but far from elite.
There is also the matter of Wilson. The Jets’ young star got off to a slow start this season and looked frustrated as his chemistry with Rodgers failed to ignite through the first four games. How would the young receiver feel about Rodgers’ best friend joining the team and becoming his favorite target without hiding his emotions or disappointment?
Of course, Adams joining the fray should make life easier for Wilson, especially since defenses can no longer divert their coverage attention to one receiver. Wilson has struggled to win matchups against opposing No. 1 corners in four games. Teams can’t double-team Wilson if Adams is on the other side, and Rodgers says he’ll always throw it to someone who’s open. But Wilson won’t be the Jets’ No. 1 receiver as long as Adams is there and Rodgers is the quarterback — and Wilson is eligible for a contract extension for the first time this coming season. It’s a situation, and a relationship, worth watching.
At the end of the day, Adams makes the Jets better. Wilson, Adams, Lazard and Mike Williams form a wide receiver quartet with significant potential. With a quality running back duo in Breeze Hall and rookie Braylon Allen and tight end Tyler Conklin, the Jets have the pieces for a high-powered offense.
Additionally, Rodgers is 16 touchdowns shy of 500 for his career. Now Adams can catch that too.
Imaginary influence
The Adams trade was good news for Rodgers but bad news for Wilson. In Week 5, Wilson’s outrageous 22 targets became the second-lowest total (101) by any receiver with 20-plus targets in a game (since 2000). Wilson saw 10 more targets in Week 6, and Adams will now become Rodgers’ top option.
His relationship with Lazard and Rodgers — especially in the red zone — won’t go away either. That means Adams becomes the new No. 1, with Wilson and Lazard fighting for the No. 2 spot — similar to the battle between Tyler Lockett and Jackson Smith-Njikpa in Seattle.
Wilson and Lazard are WR3s with the arrival of Adams, and Lazard now has a higher ceiling for touchdown upside. Adams is a mid-to-high WR2 with potential for WR1 numbers. — Jake Seeley, veteran fantasy writer
(Top image: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
