Last week, Davante Adams informed the Las Vegas Raiders that he wanted to be traded out of Vegas, a move that surprised most Raiders fans but not many NFL fans, as ever since the departure of Derek Carr, Davante’s production has noticeably went down. Now the Raiders said last week that they would wait till this week to start the process to trade Adams.

Adams was acquired by the Raiders in a blockbuster trade with the Packers for first- and second-round picks in March 2022. Adams agreed to the Raiders trade partly to reunite with Carr but ended up playing only one year with him in Las Vegas, as Carr was released by the Raiders after the 2022 campaign.

So since it’s officially Davante Adams trade week. Numerous teams who are struggling this season could potentially be monitoring this situation, and seeing if this is something that their teams wanna deal with.

Davante Adams Contract Breakdown

In 2022, following a trade from the Green Bay Packers, Adams signed a 5-year contract with the Raiders for 140 million dollars. 65.6 million of it, is all guaranteed money. He also received a 19,250,000 million dollar signing bonus in 2022.

Davante Adams has his contract set up to be back loaded, which means he will get paid more in the later seasons.

Adams’ salary for this season is $17.5 million, with $13.5 million still owed through the end of the season

22.75m was guaranteed at signing (including signing bonus and 2022 salary)

$42.92M fully guarantees 3/17/2023 (2023 salary, 2023 Roster Bonus, 2024 salary)

2023 Roster Bonus: $20M (fully guaranteed, treated as signing bonus)

Per Game Active Bonus: $30,000 ($510,000, 16 LTBE ‘likely to be able to earn’ in 2022)

$20M of 2022-2024 compensation is insured

Pro Bowl: $250,000

2022: 3,500,000m + 19,250,000 signing bonus

2023: 6,030,000m

2024: 16,898,000m

2025: 35,640,000m

2026: 35,640,000m

An NFL GM is probably gonna look at Davante’s contract and definitely let him know that the only way he will play or get traded for, is if that contract gets restructured. Currently, I don’t think there is a single GM who’d make this trade without first restructuring his contract.

What do the Raiders even want for Adams?

Now the Raiders have already said what they wanted for this trade to happen. First they do not want any part in paying Adams anymore this season, a trade anywhere might force the Raiders to pay some of the contract out but I don’t think they will budge at that unless the other team is offering something more then the Raiders are asking.

The Raiders have also let interested teams know that team owner Mark Davis will not accept anything less than a second-round draft pick in return for Adams, along with additional compensation that could be in the form of a draft pick or a player.

The two favorites for Davante Adams next teams are no other than the New Orleans Saints and the New York Jets. This move could be seen as obvious since Adams said he’d want to be reunited with a quarterback he knows. Those two include Aaron Rodgers and Derek Carr.

Which teams have a heavy interest in Davante Adams?

Now both of these quarterbacks have said on record that they would want another opportunity to play with Adams, Derek Carr said if the opportunity presented itself then he would love to play with Davante Adams again.

Last year, Aaron Rodgers said on a podcast that he would also enjoy the opportunity to work with Adams again and then when asked in post-practice press conferences on Friday, Rodgers declined to comment on the situation due to the NFL’s rules of tampering but he did say that him and Davante are still good friends, and they also spend some time together in the offseason. Rodgers said that he is a great player and that the rest of it is out of his hands.

The Bills, Chiefs, and the Ravens have also been monitoring the situation.

What positions could use a new face in Vegas

1. Quarterback
2. Offensive Tackle
3. Cornerback
4. Running Back
5. Safety

Now the Raiders had 8 selections in the 2024 Draft, after the Broncos took the last top QB in the draft, the Raiders went with Brock Bowers. Giving Gardner Minshew and Aiden O’Connell a chance to battle for the starting spot.

New Orleans Saints Potential Trade

*this was written before the news of Derek Carr*

Now the Saints have been masters at playing the cap space to their favor, staying under it despite the big contract Carr is receiving. The Saints could make this move, if the Raiders we’re to pay part of his contract. Now as I mentioned earlier, the Raiders do not wanna do that, but what if the Raiders got offered a draft pick and a running back who in 2022 had 1000-plus rushing yards, and 17 touchdowns?

New Orleans Saints receive:

Davante Adams

Las Vegas Raiders receive:

Jamaal Williams

3rd Round 2026 Draft Pick

Now I personally think the team with the lowest chances to make something happen, are gonna be the Saints, they don’t have much to work with, as they only have 6 draft picks in 2025 and 7 draft picks in 2026. Also the Saints are already very close to the salary cap, so handing over a player like Williams would have to be a no-brainer, especially if the Raiders wanna get the deal done with the Saints.

Yes I know, the Raiders already have 4 running backs in the depth chart, but in the long run, this move can work out very well for the Raiders, compared to the Raiders RB1 and RB2, Williams’ stats are just a little bit better so far this season, and if the Raiders are able to get that RB room perfect with Zamir White, Alexander Mattison and Jamaal Williams, this trio could potentially put up huge numbers. Jamaal Williams contract would take a hit to to Raider’s cap space of 4,630,000m but as the years go on, the Raiders could potentially be paying a 1000-yard per season RB, for a fraction of what they should be.

This move can also make sense if you start to think beyond just this season alone. Especially since Williams still has time on his contract compared to Alexander Mattison, who is in the final year of his contract as well.

Williams’s final 2 years on his contract will have a cap hit of 3.9m in 2025 and 1.5m in 2026.

Now if the Raiders end up making this move, they could afford to pay Davante Adams contract this season, they just simply don’t want too. But in the long run, this move could turn out crucial for the Raiders. Especially with them freeing up tons of cap space with the loss of Davante Adams.

With this trade, the Raiders will have way more money to play with in the offseason and maybe bring a new QB to Vegas, especially with 20m+ available in the cap space.

New York Jets Potential Trade:

Now the Jets can make this move happen today if they want to, they have 17m available in the cap space, which opens the door to Davante and the Jets trying to get a restructure done but that could also upset one Jets player. That’s Haason Reddick.

Today, Jets owner, Woody Johnson said on a zoom call with reporters, “Haason, get in your car, drive down (I-)95 and come to the New York Jets, and we can meet you and give you an escort right in the building,”

The Jets acquired Reddick from the Philadelphia Eagles at the end of March, but the pass rusher, seeking a new contract, has refused to report without a new deal, creating a deadlock that has extended into October. He’s due $14.25 million in the final season of his current pact.

These words came after the firing of Robert Saleh, former head coach of the New York Jets, following a 2-3 start. Now its obvious that Woody would love to see Reddick in the locker room, and when Jets GM was asked if he regrets the trade made for Reddick, he said no, that the Jets are just waiting on his arrival.

Now in a perfect world, Reddick would already be on the field for the Jets and putting up insane numbers, but instead he’s currently at home watching these games. The Jets will need to figure out this issue first before they can bring Reddick into the locker room, but let’s imagine a scenario that Reddick is on the field for this trade.

Now the Jets starting WR’s are Allen Lazard, Garrett Wilson and Mike Williams. I personally think that the Jets wouldn’t mind moving Mike Williams (145 yds, 10 rec, 0 TD’s) to the rotation spot, for Davante Adams.

The Jets defense is arguably one of the top in the league, with players like Sauce Gardner leading the backfield, and that what the Raiders are struggling with, they went out in the draft and did what they could but these guys are young and have tons of pressure on them. I can see the Jets parting ways with a DB.

This move would help the Jets in exceptional ways, with Adams tremendous route running and Rodgers having 2 receivers he used to throw to back in the day, this could be a no-brainer for a struggling Jets offense.

Las Vegas Raiders receive:

D.J Reed

2025 3rd round

New York Jets receive:

Davante Adams

Yes I know, this would be a BLOCKBUSTER trade, but at the end of the day, sometimes you gotta make big moves to stay in the game, and I think this move would work out huge for both teams.

Obviously, the Jets offense can arguably get better with this move and the firing of Robert Saleh but the Raiders defense just gets 100x better with this. DJ Reed can help the young guys learn from him, and bring out some huge pass deflections. Now the only thing that could potentially turn the Raiders away from this move is the big hit that D.J Reed would take on the Raiders cap space, but with them freeing up the space after the Adams trade, I don’t think they will be too worried about it.

This may seem like a odd move for the Jets to make, but I think its a great one for them to make. D.J. Reed is in the final year of his contract and is set to hit free agency at the end of the year. The Jets could potentially make his contract, the Raiders problem now.

In a way, you can look at it, as the Raiders renting out a veteran CB, that the new young guys will be able to learn from, and feed from him, and be ready for the 2025 season, regardless if the Raiders keep Reed or not.

Other teams that could stick their noses in:

As I mentioned earlier, the Bills, Chiefs, and the Ravens all have interest in Davante Adams but with their low cap spaces, and with what Davante Adams said about being reunited with a old QB, I think their chances may be far out the window.

These teams would need the Raiders to either pay Adams salary for part of this season, send one of their big names to Vegas, or have Adams restructure his contract. Let’s break down on who can send what to the Raiders and why the trade would work for Vegas.

Buffalo Bills:

Bills send:

Mitchell Trubisky QB

2nd round 2025 draft pick

Raiders send: Davante Adams

Now this move for the Raiders gives them two options, but no matter what, for this trade to work, they need to offer to pay part of Adams contract. It gives them more leverage in the trade situation, if a team is close to biting, the Raiders could change a 3rd round draft pick, to a 2nd round draft pick just for paying some of his contract.

As I said, this move gives the Raiders two options. First the Raiders take a chance on Mitchell Trubisky and benches Aiden O’Connell and Gardner Minshew. It might be surprising to you but Trubisky played 5 games last season, and threw for over 500 yards and 4 TD’s with 5 INT. This move could be risky but you also get a 2nd round draft pick in this ordeal. That draft pick could get you another QB or even a trade-up with a team in draft night. Regardless, this move gives the Raiders essentially two outs. If they find their franchise QB with Trubisky, then they use that second-round draft pick for themselves. If Trubisky doesn’t pan out like I think he will, then make the moves necessary to keep him on the team or as a back up, and serve to their new QB in 2025.

Its simple for the Bills, you have a young team. Send your extra second round in 2025 to the Raiders and add Davante Adams to your receiving room. Adding Adams to the Bills offense could be a huge impact for them as they are already top 3 in the league for PPG, and second in the league for touchdowns scored. Adding Adams to this squad essentially signs your ticket to the number 1 spot in the league.

Kansas City Chiefs:

The Kansas City Chiefs can’t get any better right? Well it seems like they can, and after hearing the news that Rashee Rice, Marqyise Brown and Isiah Pacheco will miss a extended period of time, this move seems kinda obvious for the Chiefs to make, but just like the Bills, their main problem is cap space.

The Chiefs have 2 third-round draft picks in the 2025 draft, so they have some extra leverage in the picks department. But what players can the Chiefs decide to part ways with?

Chiefs send:

Justin Reid

3rd round draft pick

Raiders send:

Davante Adams

Justin Reid might be a huge ask from the Raiders, but also the Raiders would be trading him to a division rival. So the Raiders are gonna come out swinging with any trade talks towards the Chiefs. Freeing up cap space through a move like Justin Reid would only make sense, as all that would be required is more then likely a restructure from Adams. The Chiefs would also be sending him away on his final year of his contract.

This move would add an extra third-round draft pick for the Raiders to use and an amazing veteran CB, for the same reasons as I said earlier, young secondary needs to learn somewhere, and I bet it is 100% different having someone wearing the same uniform as you to do something rather than a coach.

Baltimore Ravens:

Earlier last week, Davante Adams posted an Edgar Allen Poe picture but the Ravens haven’t been involved in conversations since last week. That could mean that the Raiders asking price was just to high, or they are playing the waiting game with this one.

First off, the Ravens have all their seven draft picks given to them by the league. So unless they wanna lose out on some potential future, then I don’t see them trading away a draft pick. The same story goes for 2026 and 2027. Not much leverage to go off of. I personally think the Ravens are out of the conversation but don’t be surprised to see their name come back into conversations.

Final Thoughts

Now the NFL is crazy, don’t be surprised if any of these teams mentioned don’t even end up making the trade for Adams, we can even see him potentially sit the rest of the year waiting for a trade. His contract could make it hard for most teams, as if he isn’t willing to restructure, you are potentially taking a 30m hit to your cap space next season.

This whole situation is pretty crazy but here at Bear Sports News, we will follow every single big move, make sure to follow us on socials for up-to-the-minute news that doesn’t require a full news story. 🐻