Chiefs Named Among Davante Adams Trade Destinations – Would Raiders Answer KC's Call?

While the Chiefs remain an unlikely trade destination for Davante Adams, one part of the Chiefs-Raiders dynamic should be less important than some believe.

Dec 25, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) embraces Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams (17) after the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

I don't want to lead you astray — it appears extraordinarily unlikely that the Kansas City Chiefs will be real contenders in the newly established Davante Adams sweepstakes. Even as the current Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver seeks his next landing spot, as he has reportedly requested a trade out of Vegas, the odds of Adams solving KC's current wide receiver issue are extremely slim.

Still, it's hard not to think about pairing Adams with quarterback Patrick Mahomes to bolster the Chiefs' wide receiver room that will be without both Marquise "Hollywood" Brown and Rashee Rice for the foreseeable future. Ultimately, Adams's sizable salary cap hit is the element that appears most-prohibitive to Kansas City's chances of landing their new No. 1.

However, one common factor seems to be a popular reason to rule out any chance of an Adams-Chiefs pairing, and I don't think it should be the conversation-ender that many expect it to be.

Let's start with Conor Orr's piece on SI.com where he took a closer look at a few potential destinations for Adams. Among 14 teams Orr listed as interested parties, the Chiefs made an appearance.

"I’m putting the Chiefs here because the team lost Rice on Sunday," Orr wrote. "I’m not going to spend a great deal of time on the fit because it would be downright foolish for the Raiders to trade Adams within the division. Adams is one of the best players in football and pairing him with Patrick Mahomes would be a Tom Brady–Randy Moss death wish for opponents at a time when Antonio Pierce is beginning to show a knack for the position. Any and all Missouri area codes should be blocked by the facility’s incoming call operator."

Eric Edholm of NFL.com mentioned the Chiefs among potential Adams landing spots but ultimately wrote KC off for similar reasons.

"Considering the injuries to Hollywood Brown and Rashee Rice, the Chiefs are virtually back where they were a year ago, when the lack of WR talent became a season-long talking point," Edholm wrote. "You can bet that Andy Reid and Brett Veach will be looking for help there, and it would be hard to imagine Patrick Mahomes not endorsing this caliber of acquisition to help him out. But the Raiders trading Adams to the hated Chiefs? That’s a tough scenario to envision happening – unless, perhaps, the Chiefs went way over the Raiders’ asking price."

There are a lot of reasons Adams almost certainly won't be coming to Kansas City, but I'll be a contrarian on one point in particular: if — with some salary cap magic and an all-in mentality — the Chiefs can put together the best offer for Adams, the Raiders should take it. If the Chiefs clear the cap space (even if they could, I don't think they would) and offer the Raiders their first-round pick in the 2025 draft and no other team will offer more than a second-rounder, the Raiders should be willing to trade Adams in the division, even knowing that he'd likely hurt them in the next couple of seasons.

By trading Adams at all, the Raiders are admitting something that should have been clear since before the season began: they're not contending now, and they're probably not contending soon. Be it under head coach Antonio Pierce or a new leading man in future years, the Raiders need a quarterback and a general rejuvenation of talent across the board before they can be considered a legitimate threat to win the AFC West.

Adams turns 32 years old on December 24. The Raiders need draft picks and salary cap space to have any hope of contending next season, and they're probably two solid offseasons away from perhaps contending for a wild card spot in 2026. That would be Adams's age-34 season. Who cares what the Chiefs do while you independently rebuild?

If you have faith in your roster reset — as the Chiefs did when they traded Tyreek Hill to a conference rival — the most important thing is the return you can get for a future-Hall of Fame receiver.

Again, to be clear: I'd be stunned if the Chiefs are even among the serious contenders in an Adams trade. But if the Raiders are bigger than their pride (and stronger than the spirit of Al Davis, who would certainly not share my mentality), they should take KC's calls. Besides, the Chiefs won a Super Bowl on the Raiders' home turf in February. It can't get much worse than that from a divisional rival's perspective.

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