Desperation Move? Jets Land Davante Adams, but NFL Execs Question His Impact on Playoff Hopes
Aaron Rodgers and His Favorite Target are Reunited Once Again
The New York Jets made a bold and stark attempt to salvage their season by trading a conditional third-round pick to the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday to acquire All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams.
Adams had previously requested a trade from the Las Vegas Raiders, and Tuesday’s deal, in a lot of ways, has felt inevitable for months.
That’s especially true given the 31-year-old’s ties to Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, combined with New York reaching full-fledged five-alarm desperation mode following a 23-20 lost to the Buffalo Bills on Monday night.
Jets general manager Joe Douglas and the front office were so desperate to acquire Adams, that New York will assume the salary remaining on his deal. It isn’t going to be cheap.
According to ESPN, the Jets are now on the hook for $13.5 million for the remainder of this season, before Adams’ salary balloons to $36.25 million per season, beginning in 2025, through the 2026 campaign.
This was a necessary move for the Jets, viewed through the scopes of looking to jumpstart an offense that has averaged just 18.8 points per game despite boasting one of the league’s deepest receiving corps, and an explosive stable of young running backs, as well as an attempt for the Jets to make a last-ditch attempt at a charge to the postseason over the remaining 11 games of this season.
Maybe most obviously of all, this was a trade made to placate fading former MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and potentially an act of self-preservation by lame-duck general manager Joe Douglas.
The Jets trade for Adams comes eight days after New York tossed Robert Saleh into the Atlantic Ocean on the flight back from London, replacing him with interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich.
Not everyone inside the NFL, though, is convinced that Adams will make the kind of transformative impact on offense the Jets will need him to in order to make a legitimate run at the playoffs.
“He’s not going to make any impact at all if they can’t block for the quarterback,” an NFC Personnel Executive tells me, on the condition of anonymity to speak freely about another team.
Despite signing All-Pro tackle Tyron Smith and selecting All-American tackle Olu Fashanu in the first-round of April’s NFL Draft, Rodgers has been sacked 16 times through six weeks.
“Davante is still a good player who Aaron Rodgers has confidence in,” the executive points out. “But, he’s not the player he once was.”
It’s easy to see why the Jets acted so aggressively to make this reunion happen. After all, Rodgers and Adams combined for 622 receptions for 7,590 yards and 69 touchdowns during their eight seasons together with the Green Bay Packers.
However, Adams has been dealing with a hamstring injury this season that has limited him to 18 catches for 209 yards and one touchdown through three games, leading to some additional skepticism that he can still perform as one of the game’s truly elite pass-catchers.
“The Jets have always been the best fit,” an AFC Scouting Director recently told me. “But he’s on a big contract and has leg issues, that’s not a great sign for an aging wide receiver.”
Now in the shadow of the Empire State Building and across the harbor from the Statue of Liberty, Adams will look to prove the detractors wrong.
Adams rises to the top of the Jets’ depth chart at receiver that already includes Garrett Wilson, Mike Williams, and Allen Lazard, who have combined for 77 catches for 898 yards and eight touchdowns this season.
“Davante would make a lot more of an impact if he could block,” an offensive coach tells me, on the condition of anonymity because he isn’t authorized to speak publicly about another team. “But, he will have an impact. He’s going to force more coverage to his side of the field, and that should help the running game, too.”
For Rodgers, this is a move he hopes will elevate the passing game. Whether Adams is able to reinvigorate Rodgers may be what holds the key to this working out for both players, and the Jets most importantly.
After all, Rodgers has been wildly inconsistent this season while facing accuracy issues in the vertical passing game and seemingly struggling to get and stay on the same page with any of New York’s receivers not named Allen Lazard.
Rodgers is completing 61.8 percent of his passes right now for 1,387 yards with nine touchdowns to five interceptions with Lazard accounting for a quarter of his passing yards.
Williams, in particular, has been a frequent target of Rodgers’ ire, especially after game-ending interceptions each of the past two weeks.
It wouldn’t be the least bit surprising if the Jets now shop Williams to recoup some of the draft capital lost in dealing a conditional pick that can become as high as a second-rounder for Adams.
In the end, the success of this trade will hinge on whether Adams can rediscover his chemistry with Rodgers and elevate an offense that’s struggled to find consistency.
For the Jets, this is a bet on rekindling old magic and hoping it’s enough to save a season teetering on the brink. Whether it works or not, the stakes couldn’t be higher for Douglas, Rodgers, and a team desperate to find its footing.
