Jets acquire wide receiver Davante Adams from Raiders, reuniting him with Aaron Rodgers

 

After more than two years apart and a year of speculation, Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams have finally reunited. Together, they will attempt to salvage the New York Jets' disastrous season.

Adams was traded from the Las Vegas Raiders to the Jets on Tuesday in exchange for a conditional third-round pick in the upcoming draft that may be selected in the second round.

"We're back, man," Adams said while briefly joining Rodgers at the Jets' facility in Florham Park, New Jersey, for the quarterback's weekly appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show." "We're back."

The deal was agreed upon Tuesday morning and was contingent on Adams passing his physical. The teams officially announced the trade a few hours later.

"Obviously, I'm really excited," said Rodgers, who spoke to Adams a few hours after the Jets' 23-20 loss to Buffalo on Monday night and the wide receiver told him he was joining him in New York.

The Jets offense, which has struggled to find consistency throughout the first half of the season, is instantly strengthened by the 31-year-old Adams. Along with Garrett Wilson, the three-time All-Pro provides Aaron Rodgers with two No. 1-caliber wide outs to throw to, complementing tight end Tyler Conklin, running backs Breece Hall and Braelon Allen, and receivers Mike Williams, Allen Lazard, and Xavier Gipson.

Adams reportedly informed the Raiders that he wanted to leave Las Vegas, and they were happy to comply. Adams had missed the team's previous three games due to a hamstring ailment.

Additionally, Adams has rejoined Rodgers, the quarterback from whom he had eight successful seasons of pass reception success in Green Bay.

It seemed inevitable, especially when the Jets reportedly showed interest in Adams last year at the NFL trade deadline. Rodgers said at a celebrity golf tournament over the summer: "I love Davante. I can't wait to play with him ... again." With a smile, Rodgers said during training camp he meant on the golf course, but it was enough to fuel speculation that at some point - somehow - the Jets would move to bring in Adams.

The deal came less than 12 hours after the Jets lost to the Bills, a game in which Rodgers threw a Hail Mary just before halftime but also was intercepted on New York's final drive for the second straight week. It was a game marked by penalties, mistakes and missed opportunities on offense, and dropped the Jets to 2-4 amid in a three-game skid.

The Jets' turbulent past seven days come to an end with this trade. Owner Woody Johnson dismissed head coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday, two days after his team lost to Minnesota in London. Jeff Ulbrich, the defensive coordinator, was chosen to take over as interim coach. The next Wednesday, Ulbrich removed offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and appointed pass game coordinator Todd Downing in his place.

Now that Adams, one of Rodgers' closest friends and most beloved teammates, has joined the Jets, a big deal has been made. All in Green Bay, Adams has caught 615 passes from Rodgers for 7,517 yards and 68 touchdowns. That is the highest number of active players across all three categories.

Adams' departure from Las Vegas was expected after reports surfaced that he no longer wanted to be there - and the Jets immediately became a likely landing spot because of his relationship with Rodgers.

In his weekly appearance on the "Up & Adams Show" two weeks ago, Adams said he hadn't heard from Antonio Pierce since the Raiders coach appeared to like a social media post about possibly trading Adams.

That was the first concrete indication that a separation would occur, however given the statements Adams has made over the past year and a half, trade rumors have been around for a while. This included his blatant dissatisfaction during the Netflix documentary series "Receiver," which included footage from Adams' season.

Despite approaching his 32nd birthday, Adams' accurate route running and ability to catch passes even when he is double-teamed continue to make him one of the NFL's best receivers. Last season, he hauled in 103 catches for 1,144 yards and eight touchdowns. Just Adams' 997 yards in 2019 separated it from his fifth 1,000-yard season in six years.

He has caught 18 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown in three games this season.

The Raiders gave up a major haul in 2022 to get Adams when they sent the Packers first- and second-round picks in that year's draft and made Adams the highest-paid receiver at the time with a five-year, $140 million contract, with nearly $66 million guaranteed.

His final two years in 2025 and 2026 are not guaranteed. Adams' salary-cap hit rises from $25.35 million this season to $44.1 million each of the next two years, according to Spotrac. ESPN reported the Jets will assume the balance of Adams' remaining salary, but it's possible the sides could agree to a contract restructure to lower the wide receiver's cap hit for this season.