Raiders owner talks Adams trade: ‘It’s part of this life in football’
ATLANTA — The Raiders traded disgruntled wide receiver Davante Adams to the Jets on Tuesday, reuniting him with quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
New York gave up a conditional 2025 third-round pick in the deal. The pick will convert to a second-rounder if Adams is a first- or second-team All-Pro this season or is on the Jets’ active roster for the AFC title game or Super Bowl.
“It’s part of this life in football,” Raiders owner Mark Davis said at the NFL owners meetings. “Players come and go. If things don’t work out, they don’t work out.”
Davis praised general manager Tom Telesco for working out the deal with the Jets and “making sure we move forward in the future with as little
amount of distraction as possible.”
Adams said in an Instagram post he was grateful for the chance to play for the team he grew up rooting for. He also expressed his appreciation for Raiders fans.
“Thank you for your relentless passion and unwavering support when I put on the historic shield every Sunday,” Adams said. “From Oakland to Las Vegas, Raider Nation has and will always be part of my family.”
The Raiders are not picking up any of the $11.59 million in remaining salary Adams is owed this year. He will still have a $13.67 million cap hit on the team’s books this season and a $15.7 million cap hit next year. The Raiders are projected to have $108 million in cap space in 2025 after the trade.
‘We’re back, baby’
Adams, 31, played with Rodgers on the Packers for eight seasons.
Rodgers has wanted to get Adams to New York since being traded to the Jets last year. The two celebrated the deal by appearing together from Rodgers’ home Tuesday on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“We’re back, baby, we’re back,” Adams said.
Rodgers said he found out about the trade just after he returned home from the Jets’ 23-20 loss to the Bills on “Monday Night Football,” which dropped the team to 2-4.
“Obviously really excited,” Rodgers said. “Love ‘Tae. He’s a phenomenal player and a dear friend.”
Adams missed the Raiders’ past three games with a hamstring injury but told McAfee he was “feeling great.” He credited the team’s training staff for helping him recover.
“They got me back right, so fortunately I’ll be able to roll,” Adams said.
Adams expects his transition to the Jets to be smooth given his familiarity with Rodgers. He had 669 catches for 8,121 yards and 73 touchdowns in 116 games in Green Bay before being traded to the Raiders in March 2022 for a first- and second-round pick.
“I’m sure there are a few new little nuances, but for the most part (it’s) a lot of the same verbiage,” Adams said. “We should be able to pick up where we left off. That’s the idea.”
Jets owner Woody Johnson said the team wanted “to bring a lot of change this week.” The club fired coach Robert Saleh on Oct. 8 and elevated defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich to interim coach.
The team also took away play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and gave them to passing game coordinator Todd Downing.
Johnson did not give a direct answer when asked if Rodgers had any say in the Jets adding Adams.
“We know they played together,” Johnson said. “I think anybody would be interested in looking at this gentleman. He has a proven skill, that’s for sure.”
Dashed hopes
The Raiders are 2-4 this season and 1-2 since Adams’ injury. They’re last in the AFC West. Adams caught 18 passes for 209 yards and one touchdown in the team’s first three games.
Adams told the Raiders he wanted to be traded after his relationship with coach Antonio Pierce appeared to deteriorate. Adams said during his weekly appearance on the “Up and Adams” show Oct. 1 the two had not talked recently.
The Raiders hoped when they acquired Adams that he could help their offense take off because of his connection with then-quarterback Derek Carr, Adams’ college teammate at Fresno State.
Things didn’t work out as the team hoped. The Raiders finished 6-11 in 2022 and released Carr in the offseason. They then had an inconsistent 2023 campaign behind quarterbacks Jimmy Garoppolo and Aidan O’Connell.
Adams finished with 221 catches for 2,869 yards and 23 touchdowns in 37 games in Las Vegas.
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.