Davante Adams’ trade request: Latest on Jets, Saints, Steelers interest in WR

By Tashan Reed, Vic Tafur and Dianna Russini

HENDERSON, Nev. — 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 and Kansas City Chiefs are monitoring the situation, according to league sources.

The Dallas Cowboys also called about the six-time Pro Bowler, but they passed, per league sources, because they don’t want to take on the remainder of his base salary this season, which is about $12.5 million. Adams churned up rumors about the Baltimore Ravens’ getting involved last week when he posted a picture of poet Edgar Allan Poe, who’s best known for his poem “The Raven,” on Instagram, but it is unknown whether they’re actively pursuing his services. The same goes for the Washington Commanders.

When it comes to the Raiders’ asking price for Adams, they’ve remained adamant that they want a second-round pick and additional compensation. And while Adams requested a trade on Sept. 30, they’re fine waiting on a deal if they aren’t satisfied with any offers they receive.

The Raiders have been reluctant to offer to pay down Adams’ base salary via a signing bonus to consummate a deal. It’s a peculiar decision given they have plenty of salary-cap flexibility. According to Over the Cap, the Raiders currently have over $26.9 million in cap space. In 2025, they’re currently projected to have over $79.7 million in cap space.

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It’s important to note that cash is different from cap space. The Raiders would need to have a lump sum of cash on hand to pay down Adams’ salary. 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.

That complicates matters because, of the aforementioned teams who may still be in the running for Adams, only the Commanders and Jets currently have enough cap space to absorb his contract as structured. 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 Jets have been pegged as the favorite to land Adams. Adams and Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers have both stated publicly that they’d like to reunite one day after enjoying eight years of success together with the Green Bay Packers. And despite firing coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday after a 2-3 start, the Jets have continued talks with the Raiders about making that happen, according to league sources.

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The Saints also have a connection to Adams in the form of quarterback Derek Carr, who played with Adams at Fresno State and reconnected with him with the Raiders in 2022. Carr suffered an oblique injury in the Saints’ loss to the Chiefs on Monday. The severity of Carr’s injury and whether he’ll miss time are unknown, but the Saints have also continued trade discussions with the Raiders.

Although it can’t be completely ruled out, it feels unlikely that Adams and the Raiders will reconcile. Though Adams was one of coach Antonio Pierce’s most vocal supporters during Pierce’s tenure as interim coach last season, it’s clear the relationship between the two has deteriorated.

When asked Monday where things went wrong with Adams, Pierce said, “You’ve got to ask Davante that.”

Pierce, it turns out, was surprised when Adams called a meeting with the coach last Monday morning, according to league sources. Adams told Pierce he wanted to be traded to a better team, Fox Sports first reported. The Raiders told Adams they would grant his wish, as they don’t want players who don’t want to be there, and talks continued with several teams Tuesday.

The Raiders were coming off a win against the Browns on Sept. 29, and at some point that day, Pierce reportedly liked an Instagram post insinuating Adams was going to be traded.

The next day, Adams made his weekly appearance on the “Up and Adams” show and only told half the story when host Kay Adams asked him about Pierce’s Instagram like.

“I haven’t heard from (Pierce). I haven’t talked to him,” the receiver said. “I don’t really know what that was about. Obviously social media is a beast, so it’s a lot of people out there that saw it and wondering what’s going on and people reaching out.”

Adams’ appearance on the show aired before his trade demand was known, and he canceled this Tuesday’s appearance on the show. Adams has yet to speak publicly since his trade request.

The expectation is that the Raiders will move Adams at some point. He has missed the last two games due to a hamstring injury he suffered in practice on Sept. 26, but he could be medically cleared as soon as this week. The Raiders will have to write him another $939,000 game check if he is still on the roster Wednesday.

The trade deadline isn’t until Nov. 5 — and the Raiders could theoretically drag things out until then if they desire — but he likely won’t suit up again until a deal is done.