Why New York Jets, Davante Adams Trade Market May Move This Week

The New York Jets are still interested in Davante Adams and there’s a good reason why the NFL’s weekly off day is one to watch.

Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams (17) comes up short as he dives toward the end zone between Indianapolis Colts cornerback Chris Lammons (35) and Indianapolis Colts safety Ronnie Harrison Jr. (48) on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023, during a game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. / Hali Tauxe/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams will miss another game on Sunday due to a hamstring injury. He hasn’t played since Sept. 22, so this will be his third straight game out of the lineup.

He is still on the trade market, per The Athletic’s Dianna Russini. The Jets are still interested, as are the New Orleans Saints, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, who will play the Jets on Monday night.

There was buzz last week about a deal but it never happened. There will likely be buzz this week, per Russini, for a simple reason — NFL owners have a get-together coming up this week.

On Tuesday, the league’s owners have their fall meeting in Atlanta. That means all of the league’s owners will be face-to-face, including Jets owner Woody Johnson and Raiders owner Mark Davis.

In some cases, general managers and other team personnel make the trip. With the potential of an Adams deal, it’s not out of the question that the teams interested in Adams might bring their general managers with them.

Then again, the owners could simply go on their own and hash things out. It wouldn’t be the first time team owners worked together to make a trade without their football people in attendance.

Reportedly, Davis has been the one pushing his general manager, Tom Telesco, to get a second-round pick in return for Adams. He’s also pushing for whichever team acquires Adams to pick up the remainder of the wide receiver’s contract.

That sounds daunting, given that Adams signed a five-year, $140 million deal. But, it comes with a potential out after this season. His salary shoots up to a base of $35.6 million in 2025 and the team that trades for him could release him and absorb a $15 million dead cap hit, per Spotrac.

This year Adams is making $16.89 million and has a $25.3 million cap hit. Each week he stays with the Raiders he gets close to $1 million in game pay — and his cap hit for this season reduces.

With the trade deadline not until Nov. 5, teams interested in Adams could wait longer to make sure his salary can fit under their cap while weighing it against what the 32-year-old wide receiver can do for them on the field.

Until he’s healthy, it’s more likely interested teams might play the waiting game.

While he has 18 receptions for 209 yards and a touchdown in three games, Adams has been one of the game’s most productive receivers since 2014. With Green Bay in eight season he had 669 receptions for 8,121 yards and 73 touchdowns.

He was an All-Pro in his first season with the Raiders in 2022, and was exceptional, with 203 receptions in his first two years.