New York Jets Superstar Rodgers Reflects On ‘Strange 24 Hours’ After Adams Trade

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers couldn’t be happier to have his wide receiver Davante Adams, with the team.

East Rutherford, NJ -- October 14, 2024 -- Aaron Rodgers of the Jets after throwing an interception ending a late game drive for the Jets. The Buffalo Bills came to MetLife Stadium to play the NY Jets. The Jets played their first game under new interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich. / Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Now that the New York Jets have reunited quarterback Aaron Rodgers and wide receiver Davante Adams, we can start to dissect exactly what happened in the hours around the trade.

For instance, in speaking to reporters on Wednesday at Florham Park, Rodgers made it clear that he did not lobby general manager Joe Douglas to make the deal that was cut late Monday night.

“Joe loved Davante as well,” Rodgers said to reporters, including The Athletic. “I didn’t have to do any extra recruiting or nudging.”

Rodgers has made thinly-veiled references to reuniting with Adams in the past, but until early Tuesday morning, in the aftermath of the Jets’ 23-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Rodgers was in the dark about whether the trade was happening.

Well, at least that's what he says.

Davante Adams is staying with Aaron Rodgers until he gets settled in the New York area

Rodgers on Adams: "He looks like he's drank the elixir from the fountain of youth" pic.twitter.com/Tv4y3ZgoAF

— Jets Videos (@snyjets) October 16, 2024

According to Rodgers, Adams called him around 1 a.m. and told him he was getting on a plane. Surprised and admittedly a bit crest-fallen, Rodgers asked where the All-Pro wide receiver was headed.

“New York.”

He seemed positively giddy with the move.

“I knew there was interest, but I knew there were a lot of other things in play,” Rodgers said.

Other teams were interested, including Sunday’s opponent, Pittsburgh. But Douglas got the deal done.

The Jets gave up two conditional draft picks and reworked Adams’ 2024 cap hit to reduce it for this season by adding two voidable years to the end. The Jets and Adams have both said that they would like to get a longer deal in place in the offseason. Rodgers also said that having Adams in town makes him want to play longer.

If it seems the pair have been joined at the hip since Adams arrived, that’s not too far from reality. Adams made a cameo during Rodgers’ weekly visit to ESPN’s Pat McAfee show on Tuesday, one of those lean-in-and-smile appearances while Rodgers was talking from the team facility.

Adams hasn’t found a place in New York yet so he’s crashing with Rodgers for now. Rodgers said that’s allowed Adams to get about “95%” of his hand signals down in an effort to be ready to play Sunday, assuming his hamstring allows it.

They’ve been apart for a couple of years after the Packers sent Adams to the Raiders after the 2021 season. The receiver is 32, a spring chicken compared to Rodgers’ 40 years, and the quarterback spent some time watching Adams’ film from Las Vegas.

"It looks like he's drank the elixir from the fountain of youth,” Rodgers said.

While with Las Vegas, Adams had 18 receptions for 209 yards and a touchdown in three games before the injury. In his first two full seasons with the Raiders, he had 203 receptions.

With Green Bay in eight seasons with Rodgers as his quarterback had 669 receptions for 8,121 yards and 73 touchdowns.

It’s that magic the pair hope to recapture again in New York.

“It’s been a strange 24 hours but it’s been fun to see my friend,” Rodgers said.