Davante Adams Trade Rumors: Raiders Rejected Better Offer from Jets in 2023

The Las Vegas Raiders, which received a conditional third-round pick in exchange for trading Davante Adams to the New York Jets, could have reportedly earned a larger haul had they dealt the wide receiver last season.

The Jets offered "a much bigger return than this year's offer" to acquire Adams the night before the 2023 trade deadline, but the Raiders turned down the offer, according to The Athletic's Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed.

The Raiders may have had less trade leverage this time around because of the potential out built into Adams' contract after the 2024 season.

The pick Las Vegas received in exchange for Adams could turn into a second-round selection should the wideout earn an All-Pro nod or play in the AFC Championship Game or Super Bowl, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

According to Tafur and Reed, the Jets' previous offer for Adams came the night the wide receiver slammed his helmet onto the turf after the Raiders could not hold a lead during a 26-14 loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 8 of the 2023 season.

Despite the reported offer, the Raiders stood pat with their roster at the trade deadline the next day. The team did make significant changes by firing head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager David Ziegler hours after the deadline.

Adams supported the hiring of interim, and later permanent, head coach Antonio Pierce, per Tafur and Reed, while ESPN's Adam Schefter has reported the receiver was a supporter of quarterback Aidan O'Connell being named the starter in Week 9 of the 2023 season.

The Raiders then benched O'Connell for the start of the 2024 season in favor of Gardner Minshew, of whom Adams was "never in on," per Tafur and Reed.

The team's inability to answer the quarterback question was apparently the last straw for Adams, who requested a trade after the team's 1-2 start to the season and did not play for the Raiders following Week 3.

The decision to bet on Minshew and Pierce may have cost the Raiders some amount in draft compensation, but the 2024 trade still benefited Las Vegas in that the team did not retain any of Adams' remaining salary (h/t Schefter.)

Las Vegas will still take on $13.67 million in dead cap this season, followed by a $15.7 million dead cap hit in 2025, per Spotrac. No longer paying the salary of a team member who is not playing, while ensuring the team receives some compensation before Adams potentially walks next spring, still represents a win for a team that could consider selling at the Nov. 5 trade deadline.