Davante Adams and Aaron Rodgers are back together. . . As first reported by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Raiders have agreed to trade Adams to the Jets on Tuesday.
Las Vegas will receive a conditional third-round pick that can become a second-round pick based on Adams' performance.
The Jets are assuming the balance of Adams' remaining salary, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Adams' salary for this season is $17.5 million, with approximately $13.5 million still owed through the end of the season. And while he is under contract for 2025 and 2026, his annual salary jumps to $36.25 million for each of those seasons.
Adams, 31, spent eight seasons with the Packers playing with Rodgers. He led the league with 18 touchdowns in 2020, as Green Bay went 13-3 and Rodgers won MVP.
A three-time, first-team All-Pro, Adams has recorded 890 career catches for 10,990 yards with 96 touchdowns.
Dealing with a hamstring injury, Adams has appeared in just three games so far this season. He's caught 18 passes for 209 yards with a touchdown.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Adams red-eyed into New Jersey early Tuesday morning with the deal in place and is taking a physical to finalize the trade.
Fantasy Football Impact
Adams joins a crowded receiving corps that includes emerging star Garrett Wilson, Mike Williams, and Allen Lazard.
They also have Xavier Gipson, who handles punt and kickoff returns, and rookie Malachi Corley, but the impact on Wilson is what we're all going to be watching here.
As ESPN.com's Rich Cimini and Paul Gutierrez note, Rodgers has compared Wilson to a young Adams. Rodgers and Wilson struggled to connect early in the season, but Wilson is coming off his two most productive games -- 21 catches for 208 yards and two touchdowns.
Williams has struggled to produce. In Monday night's 23-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Williams ran the wrong route on the Jets' final play, according to Rodgers. In his postgame news conference, Rodgers said Williams should've run a vertical route instead of breaking it off -- and the result was an interception.
It was the second straight game in which Rodgers' final pass was intercepted -- both targets to Williams.
According to Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio, the Jets have already begun shopping Williams in an effort to thin the herd.
Until now, Lazard has enjoyed the second-highest target share in the offense (he had drawn about 18 percent compared to Wilson's 29 percent heading into Monday night's game). He'll struggle to maintain that share. Wilson might, too.
Footballguy Senior Editor Jason Wood, a member of the projections team, offered up the following initial rest-of-season distribution for the Jets WRs:
- Adams -- 100 targets/68 receptions/835 yards (12.3)/8 touchdowns
- Wilson -- 65 targets/43 receptions/490 yards (11.4)/3 touchdowns
- Lazard -- 54 targets/32 receptions/400 yards (12.5)/2 touchdowns
To be clear, pessimism about Wilson's future isn't universal.
Footballguy Drew Davenport doesn't see Wilson falling off a cliff. "I think they’ll trade weeks of relevancy more than Adams dominates," Davenport explained while acknowledging we're in uncharted territory.
Our colleague Dan Hindery is on that side as well.
"Adams turns 32 in December," Hindery noted. "I wouldn't assume he is the same guy he was in his prime and will be way more productive than a 24-year-old Wilson."
Whatever the case, The Athletic contends that Adams joining the fray should make life easier for Wilson, especially since defenses will no longer be able to divert all their coverage attention to one receiver.
Wilson struggled to win matchups against opponents' No. 1 corners through four games. Teams can't double Wilson anymore if Adams is on the other side, and Rodgers always says he'll throw it to whoever is open.
But, as The Athletic piece explained, "Wilson will not be the Jets' No. 1 receiver as long as Adams is around and Rodgers is the quarterback."
Overall, Adams makes the Jets offense better. Wilson, Adams, and Lazard form a three-man rotation with significant potential.
NFL.com's Bobby Knowack notes that Adams' addition should also be a boon to the running game, forcing defenses to split resources between stopping another dangerous pass catcher or slowing the backfield tandem of Breece Hall and Braelon Allen.
Adams' presence will also allow Lazard to be used even more as a blocker, which is one of his strengths.
Meanwhile, the Raiders have already figured out a path forward without Adams in Vegas. After all, his last snap with the franchise came in a loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 3. Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker, and DJ Turner will continue to serve as the team's top three wideouts.
But expect Brock Bowers, currently fantasy's TE2 with an average of 13.8 points per game -- to continue being the most (and only) reliable fantasy asset in this passing attack.
Of course, the Footballguys staff will have various views on this one, so watch for more on this story and the broader impact in coming days.
The move will also impact our Week 7 Footballguys Projections and Rankings, so watch for that.
Catch Harris every weekday morning on the Footballguys Daily Update Podcast, your 10-minute daily dose of NFL news and fantasy analysis. Find the latest edition here or subscribe on your podcast platform of choice. You can also listen to Harris weeknights on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio's The Football Diehards show and Sundays on the SXM Fantasy Football Pregame show on Sirius channel 87, and Saturday nights on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Sirius channel 88.
