Well, it finally happened. After months and months of speculation – and a few weeks of thinking he was going to the Saints – the Davante Adams Trade Saga ended up exactly how everyone thought it would.
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On Tuesday morning, NFL Network first reported that Adams was headed to the New York Jets in a trade. The final details of the trade are still being reported, but in return, the Raiders are reportedly getting a conditional third round pick that could eventually become a second-rounder. Also, notably enough, the Raiders aren't eating any of Adams' contract: the Jets will be paying most of his salary from here on out, a detail that was reportedly up in the air during trade discussions up to this point.
🚨 🚨 🚨
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 15, 2024
The #Raiders are completing a trade of star WR Davante Adams to the #Jets, sources say.
Back with his good friend, Aaron Rodgers. As Las Vegas moves on. pic.twitter.com/jKyKJk0WLL
Davante Adams is finally headed to the Jets after all
Trade Grade: B+
All in all, there's not actually a whole ton about this trade that's interesting. It was always going to be the Jets – the Saints/49ers stuff always felt like the necessary leverage that the Raiders needed. Even before Adams was visibly unhappy with the team and not playing because of his "hamstring injury," the Jets were the only place anyone thought he'd end up. In that sense, none of Tuesday morning's news comes as a surprise, especially after how the Jets looked in their Monday Night Football loss to the Bills.
Compensation-wise, the Raiders did better than I think anyone expected. Adams was never going to get the type of haul that Tyreek Hill did, and once the Raiders decided to keep him into the season, they were never getting that first round pick that fans dreamed of. A conditional third that could eventually turn into a second-rounder is about as good as you're going to get for a mid-season trade of a 32-year old, so hats off to the Raiders there. More importantly, they got the Jets to pay most of Adams' salary going forward. That is the coup, here. LV will still deal with a little bit of dead cap, but it's nothing in comparison to what they were on the hook for before the trade.
It's finally done. Raiders fans can finally rest. Minshew's been benched, Adams has been traded – the tank has fully arrived. Time to turn on that Sheduer Sanders tape.