After their Week 4 victory over the Cleveland Browns, the Las Vegas Raiders are in the AFC playoff picture. However, that's not enough for star wide receiver Davante Adams.
Adams requested a trade on Tuesday, via NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
“Raiders star WR Davante Adams informed the team that he preferred to be traded, per me and Mike Garafolo,” Rapoport reported. “There is nothing imminent, but a situation to watch for sure.”
Sometimes, teams refuse to budge when a player wants out, but that isn't the case here, via Review Journal's Vincent Bonsignore.
“More on this to come: A league source with knowledge of the situation confirmed that the Raiders are growing open to the idea of trading Davante Adams,” Bonsignore said. “The source said the club has begun reaching out to teams to gauge interest in the veteran wide receiver.”
Adams was traded to Las Vegas from the Green Bay Packers on March 17, 2022, nine days after signing a one-year franchise-tag deal with his original squad. While this broke up his fruitful partnership with NFL legend Aaron Rodgers, he meshed well with Derek Carr out west, recording 100 catches for 1,516 yards and 14 touchdowns that season. However, Carr was cut the following year after refusing to waive his no-trade clause, and it was all downhill from there.
The Raiders improved from 6-11 to 8-9 in 2023, thanks in large part to the team's 5-4 run after interim head coach Antonio Pierce took over for Josh McDaniels. However, the passing attack has been hamstrung by the likes of Jimmy Garappolo and Gardner Minshew since Carr left, and Adams ran out of patience.
At 31 years old, Adams doesn't have forever to win his first Super Bowl. Which teams would he be most likely to win with?
New York Jets
Adams has been linked to the Jets for months, as Rodgers is now slinging the rock in the Big Apple. At 40, Rodgers is gunning for one more Super Bowl trophy in the twilight of his career, and who better to help him than Adams?
Adams caught passes from Rodgers in Green Bay from 2014-21, making four Pro Bowls and two first-team All-Pro squads during that time. Adams led the NFL with 18 touchdown catches in 2020 and had a career-high 1,553 yards in 2021. However, the Packers never made it past the NFC Championship despite making the playoffs in 2014, '15, '16, '19, '20, and '21.
With a revamped offensive line along with Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall, and Braelon Allen, New York has pieces in place to help Rodgers and Adams achieve what they never could together on the Packers.
Buffalo Bills
While the Bills are one of the most dangerous teams in the league, their 35-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday showed that they're still vulnerable. Josh Allen has spread the ball around in the wake of Stefon Diggs' departure, so there may be a case for not fixing what's not broken. However, Adams' inclusion in the offense would help second-year tight end Dalton Kincaid get more open looks, as opposing secondaries currently have no game-breaking threats to worry about. Kincaid has yet to top 47 yards in a game this year after a good run to end his rookie season last year.
Buffalo's current receiving leader is Khalil Shakir, with a modest 230 yards and two touchdowns on 18 catches through four games. While the 24-year-old is a fine player, it'll be tough for him to break loose against top defenses in the playoffs with tailback James Cook being the only notable skill-position threat on the team.
Adams would not only take defensive attention away from his Bills teammates, but his playoff experience would come in handy as well. While Shakir has been in the postseason, Buffalo also leans on rookie wideout Keon Coleman, with veterans like Curtis Samuel and Marquez Valdes-Scantling largely being phased out of the passing attack.
Baltimore Ravens
While second-year wideout Zay Flowers is a promising talent, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has never had an elite receiver at his disposal. Adams fits the bill, as he's just over a season removed from his explosive '22 campaign, and still registered 103 catches for 1,144 yards and eight scores despite having a mediocre quarterback situation last year.
While star running back Derrick Henry has run wild in his first season with Baltimore, the pass-catching group is full of question marks outside of Flowers. Tight end Mark Andrews has struggled after last year's injury, and Isiah Likely has cooled off after an explosive Week 1 performance. Meanwhile, Rashod Bateman and Nelson Agholor have been serviceable, but nothing more.
Adding Davante Adams to an offense with Jackson and Henry would make it explosive beyond belief.
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