The New York Jets are revamping their wide receiver room heading into 2025.
After fielding trade calls on veteran pass catcher Davante Adams over the last several days, the team officially decided to release him on Tuesday afternoon. Adams had no more guaranteed money on his contract and the Jets will now save $29.9 million on their 2025 salary cap.
Despite being set to enter his age-32 season, Adams is coming off of his fifth consecutive 1,000+ yard season and has no plans to hang up his cleats. But where could he be headed next?
Here are six potential landing spots for Davante Adams in free agency:
6. New England Patriots
Just hear me out.
Sure, the Patriots are still in the early stages of their post-Bill Belichick rebuild, but they're also rumored to be in the market for a veteran wide receiver who can help lead their depleted room.
Adams also has two notable connections to New England. First, Patriots EVP of player personnel Eliot Wolf was a part of the Green Bay Packers front office that drafted Adams with the 53rd overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft. Secondly, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders when they traded for him in 2022.
In McDaniels's lone full season as the Raiders head coach, Adams hauled in 100 catches for 1,516 yards and a league-leading 14 touchdowns. While the now-Patriots OC's time in Vegas certainly ended on a sour note, Boston Sports Journal's Greg Bedard recently reported that "any personal issues [between McDaniels and Adams] are overblown."
New England could be a dark-horse fit for both sides.
5. Green Bay Packers
While Adams's tenure in Green Bay ended with a franchise tag and a subsequent trade to Las Vegas, that debacle was just about four years ago at this point—and the Packers need a true No. 1 wide receiver.
Adams is a Green Bay legend. He holds the team's record for most catches (123), receiving yards (1,553), and receiving touchdowns (18) in a season—while also ranking No. 2 in franchise history in both receptions (669) and receiving TDs (73) and coming in at No. 4 in receiving yards (8,121).
Adding Adams to a room of—among others—Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, and Christian Watson would give quarterback Jordan Love a lethal wide receiving corps on offense to compliment Green Bay's already stout defense.
There's no place like home.
4. Kansas City Chiefs
Coming off of their Super Bowl LIX loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City is in a retool—not a rebuild—heading into the 2025 season.
Though tight end Travis Kelce has already announced that he's planning on returning for another year, wide receivers DeAndre Hopkins, Marquise Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Justin Watson, and Mecole Hardman are all expected to hit free agency next week.
The Chiefs adding the veteran to a room of young studs in Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy would not only create quite the pass catching trio for Patrick Mahomes—but also potentially help Adams add a Super Bowl ring to his resume.
3. Los Angeles Rams
When rumors of the Jets moving on from Adams started to trickle out during Super Bowl week, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport added an intriguing follow up to his reporting—adding that the wide receiver "would like to be on the West Coast," with his next team.
Enter: The Los Angeles Rams.
An offseason in L.A. that looked to be a rebuild after Cooper Kupp was put on the trade block has quickly shifted into "run it back" mode with Matthew Stafford re-structuring his contract and head coach Sean McVay announcing that veterans Tyler Higbee and Rob Havenstein will also remain with the team. They want to compete now.
Though Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer has since reported that Stafford's return to the Rams, "doesn’t change anything with Cooper Kupp," that doesn't mean they can't add a different—much cheaper—veteran wide out into the fold.
Adams and Puka Nacua would be quite the headache-giving duo for opposing defenses.
2. Los Angeles Chargers
Another team West Coast team that's in need of a veteran pass catcher is the Los Angeles Chargers.
Despite quarterback Justin Herbert notching a career-high 101.7 passer rating and throwing a career low three interceptions in 2024, he did so throwing to the likes of pseudo-first-round bust Quentin Johnston and rookie Ladd McConkey—who's better off as a two than a one.
Adams would immediately become the No. 1 option in the Chargers' offense and would make life plenty easier for Herbert, who is still looking to win his first playoff game as he enters his age-27 season.
This one would make a lot of sense.
1. Wherever Aaron Rodgers lands
It's inevitable, isn't it?
After building an exceptional connection with the Green Bay Packers from 2014 to '21, Rodgers and Adams reunited this season when the Jets traded a mid-round pick to the Raiders for the wide receiver in mid-October. Adams went on to haul in 67 passes for 854 yards and seven touchdowns over 11 games in New York, and proved that he can still play despite having plenty of tread on his tires.
With the Jets announcing last month that they'll be parting ways with Rodgers after just two seasons, the New York Giants are reportedly interested in his services. Perhaps they make a move for Adams as well.
Ultimately, wherever Rodgers goes will also become a suitor for the 32-year-old looking for his fourth team in five seasons.
More NFL on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Top Six Davante Adams Landing Spots Following Jets Release.
