It took longer than some expected, but the result is no surprise: Davante Adams is now a member of the Jets and back with his former quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Both players talked openly about a reunion one day, and now it’s come to fruition. While they’ll try to recreate the success of their days in Green Bay, the Raiders must move on after getting a draft pick in return for their best player on offense.
So of all the Raiders left in Adams’ wake, who stands to benefit the most? Who stands to lose the most? Here are the Raiders winners and losers after Adams’ tenure in Las Vegas ended with a thud.
Winner: New York Jets
I know this is Raiders winners and losers, but we must clear the air on one item before we get to Las Vegas. The Jets made a great move in acquiring Adams to pair with Rodgers, and the deal is a massive win for them, at least in the short term.
They traded a draft pick that will either be a third- or second-rounder based on conditions, but the Jets got a lot of talent for the money against their salary cap, especially after reportedly restructuring Adams’ deal.
Plus, there is some long-term benefit for the Jets. Adams’ deal is only guaranteed for the remainder of the year. As far as rent-a-player trades go, this is an all-time great move. If it doesn’t work out for Adams in New York, they can part ways. And if it does, the Jets will be in a good position to sign Adams to a new contract.
Loser: Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders lost a talented player because the team was performing so poorly that Adams couldn’t stand it any longer. Las Vegas is struggling and can hardly afford to lose talent.
Plus, there’s the salary cap side of this. The Raiders are still on the hook for nearly $30 million in dead cap money resulting from the massive multi-year deal Adams signed with the Raiders’ previous regime.
NFL TRADE#Jets Acquire
WR Davante Adams
2024: $11.59M ($11.2M g'teed)
2025: $36.25M (non-g'teed)
2026: $36.25M (non-g'teed)#Raiders Dead Cap
2024: $13.67M
2025: $15.7M— Spotrac (@spotrac) October 15, 2024
Winner: WR Davante Adams
It may pain some Raiders fans to realize this, but Adams had every reason to want out of Las Vegas.
This has been an unstated fact for a while now. That’s why every time Adams said he was happy in Las Vegas, it was news — because it didn’t make sense, other than his genuine happiness living in the warm Las Vegas climate with his family.
As everyone knows, Adams came to Las Vegas to catch passes from his college quarterback Derek Carr. Instead, he caught passes from six Raiders signal callers in his short tenure here. Now he’s back with Rodgers, a future Hall of Fame quarterback, albeit an aging one. But compared to his situation in Las Vegas, Adams is now better positioned to reach greatness every week like he so desires.
Loser: HC Antonio Pierce
On the most basic level, coach Antonio Pierce simply lost a great player. That hurts a lot on its own.
But unfortunately for Las Vegas, Pierce is a new coach off to a rocky start this season. This move makes his new regime look bad, though it’s likely Adams wouldv’e wanted out regardless of what Pierce did or did not do, given the Raiders’ quarterback situation.
Now that the Adams drama is over, Pierce should focus on his team’s strategy rather than providing juicy soundbites, such as his “business decisions” comment from a few weeks ago. His job just became a lot tougher, and it’s now clear his motivational tactics alone won’t help the team improve, even if Adams was still on the team.
Winner: TE Brock Bowers
Sure, tight end Brock Bowers lost a great pass-catching running mate in Adams. But Bowers loves catching the football and running through and around defenders, and he figures to be the Raiders’ No. 1 option on offense for the rest of the season.
Loser: OC Luke Getsy
Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy is on the loser side of the ledger because he lost a great player at a time he can least afford to, much the same as Pierce. Plus, Getsy’s history with Adams (in Green Bay) was supposed to help the Raiders offense.
Winner: GM Tom Telesco
Is it possible that Raiders general manager Tom Telesco could’ve gotten ahead of this issue and dealt Adams in the offseason? Telesco knew the Raiders’ QB situation was subpar and therefore he could have potentially predicted Adams’ unhappiness.
But I don’t think so, for a few reasons. Primarily, Adams always said he was happy as a Raider. So why trade him when talent is at a premium?
That being said, Telesco did as well as he could with this trade, especially when team owner Mark Davis wouldn’t make the deal easier by paying down some of Adams’ salary.
Loser: QBs Aidan O’Connell, Gardner Minshew
If quarterbacks Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell thought playing quarterback on the Raiders was difficult with Adams, they’ll hate playing without him.
Winner: Raiders wide receivers
The road will be rough for the Raiders wide receivers during the rest of the season; they’ll face the same issues that convinced Adams to leave. But they’ll have what every NFL player wants, and that’s an opportunity. And I’ve never heard of a wide receiver getting upset because he’ll have more footballs thrown his way.
Loser: Las Vegas
Well, Las Vegas, this is what it’s like to follow the Raiders.
It’s only a few years into the Raiders’ move to Sin City and the franchise has yet to earn a consistent presence of Raiders fans at Allegiant Stadium. It’s understandable, given the team’s performance.
But at least Las Vegas had an NFL superstar to be proud of. Now that is gone, too. But at least Tom Brady is a part owner now.
#Raiders owner Mark Davis joked that they traded Davante Adams for Tom Brady and a third round pick today
— Tashan Reed (@tashanreed) October 15, 2024
Winner: Mark Davis
Placing Mark Davis in the winner column is a bit insincere on my part, but he got what he seemingly wanted most: he didn’t have to pay Adams any more salary this season.
Of course, that may have cost the Raiders a non-conditional second-round pick or even more.
Mark Davis held firm on not paying any of Adams’ remaining salary, just lowered demands for second-round pick plus something else.
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) October 15, 2024
Bonus losers: Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler
Just one more non-Raiders entry on the list: the Raiders’ previous regime, led by coach Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler.
They acquired Adams for a first and second-round pick. They foolishly thought pairing Adams with Carr would solve the substantial issues with their overall roster. It was a move destined to fail, even if many fans and media thought the trade was a slam dunk.
Honorable mention loser: DE Maxx Crosby
This move doesn’t greatly impact defensive end Maxx Crosby on or off the field. Crosby plays defense, for one. Plus, he’s a superstar defender regardless of what Adams does.
But you know this has to hurt Crosby to some degree. He desperately wants to build a winner with the Raiders, and they are moving in the wrong direction once again.
Davante Adams leaving Maxx Crosby on the Raiders pic.twitter.com/iVywlKuNf7
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) October 15, 2024
