The Davante Adams trade rumors have been quieter this week than initially expected. Last week it became clear that the Las Vegas Raiders were looking to deal Adams after he officially requested a trade. Many thought a trade could happen early in the week, but we are over halfway through the week and there still hasn’t been any action.
According to The Athletic’s Raiders reporter Tashan Reed on X, along with Vic Tafur and Dianna Russini, the Pittsburgh Steelers, New Orleans Saints, Buffalo Bills, and New York Jets are still in the running for Adams while the Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, and Washington Commanders are out.
“The Las Vegas Raiders are in talks with several teams about a potential trade for receiver Davante Adams. The New York Jets, New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers are among the teams who remain interested in acquiring Adams after reaching out to the Raiders, while the Buffalo Bills are monitoring the situation, according to league sources,” Reed wrote for The Athletic.
According to multiple reports, the Raiders are hoping for a second-round pick, plus additional compensation in return. They are also hoping to avoid paying any of his salary for the remaining years on his contract. It doesn’t seem like many teams are willing to meet the Raiders’ current conditions, though it should be noted that Adams’ trade request takes some leverage out of their hands.
“The Raiders would need to have a lump sum of cash on hand to pay down Adams’ salary,” Reed and Russini wrote. “That might’ve been an issue for owner Mark Davis in the past, but the Raiders’ business has improved dramatically since relocating from Oakland to Las Vegas in 2020. It would seemingly behoove the Raiders to use their resources to sacrifice cash to garner a stronger return for Adams, but they haven’t expressed a willingness to do so.
“The Steelers, Ravens and Saints would all either need the Raiders to pay down Adams’ salary or create significant cap space by other means to make a trade feasible.”
The Raiders are reportedly fine waiting if the offers aren’t to their liking.
The Steelers could make the trade happen, but they would need to either restructure Adams’ contract, have the Raiders pick up some of the tab, or create cap space through other methods. For a financial breakdown of what the deal could look like, check out Dave Bryan’s article from last week.
It should also be noted that the Jets and Saints are both going through other circumstances that could have an effect on the trade taking place. The Saints just lost Derek Carr to an oblique injury that could hold him out for multiple weeks. The Jets just fired their head coach. Some think that could increase the likelihood of a trade, while others think it has slowed down talks for now.
There is no doubt that acquiring Adams would elevate the Steelers’ offense. They have gotten very little out of the passing game, especially from all the receivers not named George Pickens. Pairing Adams with Pickens would create a very strong duo of receiving threats for Justin Fields or Russell Wilson.
