Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams and the Jets all got their wish, and now the pressure really is on to make big things happen.
Adams was traded from the Raiders to the Jets, according to NFL Network, and reunited with his longtime quarterback Rodgers, who has imported many of his friends over the last two seasons but none with a chance to make a bigger impact.
The Jets traded a conditional third-round draft pick to acquire the disgruntled Adams, who is due about $12.1 million in salary over the rest of this season. The 31-year-old six-time Pro Bowler had 18 catches for 209 yards and a touchdown in three games with the Raiders, missing the last three games with a hamstring injury.
It is immediately unclear how much of the tab, if any, the Raiders agreed to pay, and whether or not the Jets will restructure Adams’ contract. He has base salaries of $35.6 million remaining in each of the next two years,but none of the money is guaranteed, leaving him vulnerable as a cap casualty.
A case could be made that trading for Adams was more of a luxury than a need.
Garrett Wilson already is a certified No. 1 receiver coming off back-to-back 100-yard games, and both Allen Lazard (four years, $44 million) and Mike Williams (one-year, $10 million) are paid handsomely to be complements.
The primary offensive issue appears to be protecting Rodgers.
And pass-rusher Haason Reddick still is locked in a contract holdout dating to his acquisition in March.
But there was no keeping apart Rodgers and Adams, both of whom seemed to regret separating in the first place. The connection resulted in 622 receptions for 7,590 yards and 69 touchdowns when they were Packers teammates.
Adams was traded to the Raiders – where he reunited with his college quarterback Derek Carr – one season before Rodgers was traded to the Jets.
But the Raiders cut Carr after one season with Adams, and it seemed that Adams had been flirting with asking his way out of town ever since. Carr’s Saints reportedly were the other atop Adams’ wish list.
Adams also made sense for the receiver-needy Bills, Chiefs, Cowboys, Commanders and Steelers, too. The trade accomplishes keeping Adams away from the AFC East rival Bills and not making a potential path through the AFC playoffs even harder if he joined the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs.
While the chemistry between Rodgers and Wilson seems to be improving, Adams, like Lazard, has years of practice seeing the same things that Rodgers sees.
Lazard and demoted offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett are with the Jets primarily because of their ties to Rodgers. He also swayed the team toward adding offensive tackle Billy Taylor and receiver Randall Cobb last season, when the whole Packers East experiment blew up because Rodgers tore his Achilles in the season-opener.
Wilson, Lazard, Rodgers and cornerback D.J. Reed have danced around the NFL’s tampering rules while offering support for either welcoming Adams specifically or the kind of all-in trade that this move represents for the Jets.
Entering the season with Super Bowl expectations and having fired head coach Robert Saleh after five games, the Jets are off to a 2-4 start following Monday’s loss to the Bills in Jeff Ulbrich’s debut as interim coach.
Adams could make his debut Sunday against the Steelers.