Trade Grades: Jets Land Davante Adams via Raiders

Trade Grades: Jets Land Davante Adams via Raiders

Aaron Rodgers finally got his guy. The 2-4 New York Jets are spiraling but they did finally pull off the trade for Davante Adams. Was this a smart move by the Jets or did the Raiders win this deal? That’s why you’re here. No need for a fancy intro. Let’s hand out those trade grades!

Las Vegas Raiders: Grade D

I just don’t think we can ignore the sunk cost fallacy here. Credit to the Raiders for getting something back but let’s not ignore how big of a mistake it was to trade for Adams the first time around. Consider this…

The Raiders gave up a 2022 first round pick (22nd overall), a 2022 second round pick (53rd overall), paid Adams $56 million in cash, and got 37 games of production. You can’t talk about this trade without talking about the first deal. The first deal is now a complete disaster and it was always the wrong trade. This Raiders team stinks and giving up premium picks in what should have been a rebuild is why the Raiders are where they are.

The positive is that they now free up $28.4 million in cap space for 2025 and have approximately $108 million to work with this upcoming offseason. Getting a third round pick that can become a second rounder for a 32-year-old receiver isn’t a bad get either. If Vegas is smart (they’re not smart) they can find a quality receiver in the draft who won’t cost nearly as much.

This is the real question. Will Vegas continue with the tear down. You can’t stop here. Vegas should trade 3-4 more players from the roster for picks. Rebuild this thing the right way (which they probably won’t and probably still think they can win the AFC West).

Davante Adams: Last season proved ‘I didn’t need Aaron Rodgers’

New York Jets: Grade C-

It’s hard to totally love the move by the Jets. Joe Douglas is a dead man walking. If they miss the playoffs, he’s getting fired. Robert Saleh has already been fired. Aaron Rodgers is on hole 17 of his career. How much does Adams really help them? What if Adams performs and they still miss the playoffs?

Keep in mind, this Jets team is flushing more picks down the toilet while the rest of their roster is about to become more expensive. Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, and Sauce Gardner will all require expensive extensions soon. Flushing picks down the toilet when you need to pay those guys… I’m not sure it’s a strategy I can get behind. It’s one thing to deal a pick for Adams. It’s another when you already dumped one for Haason Reddick, who still hasn’t reported to the team.

Adams will probably help improve the offense. It’s just hard to take the Jets seriously as a contender either way when they have an interim coach on both sides of the ball. What are the real expectations here? If Adams helps the Jets go 9-8, is that acceptable? What does it look like next year as the Jets look for an entirely new coaching staff? It’s hard to get totally behind this move but it will definitely be more entertaining offensively.

The positive is that the conditions on the trade are unlikely to be met. Adams has to make an All Pro team and or the Jets have to make the AFC Title game. Trading a third for Adams feels more palatable than a second rounder. I guess credit to them for not totally overpaying.

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