Why Davante Adams almost definitely won’t be traded

While wide receiver Davante Adams expressed uncertainty about the direction of the Las Vegas Raiders, here’s why he won’t be traded.

This offseason, the Las Vegas Raiders continued to build the team in head coach Josh McDaniels’ and general manager Dave Ziegler’s image. This past week, wide receiver Davante Adams went viral for comments he made about the direction of the franchise, telling The Ringer, “I’m going to have to buy into this and try to be as optimistic as possible. It’s not what I expected to happen, but it’s something that’s the reality now.” Adams did do some damage control, posting a photo of Ziegler with the caption “the man.” 

Despite Adams trying to let the world know that he is cool with the Raiders general manager, that didn’t stop the trade rumors from flowing in. But is it realistic?

In a mailbag column, a reader asked The Athletic’s Vic Tafur (subscription required) about the chances that the Raiders would cut ties with Adams “and try to get a first-round pick in return.” Tafur responded with one reason as to why a trade is unrealistic — his dead cap hits the next two years.

“Adams has a dead cap hit of $31.4 million if traded this year and $23.6 million if traded next year, so that’s not in the cards right now,” said Tafur.

Why a Davante Adams trade off the Raiders isn’t realistic

The Raiders made the trade for Adams last offseason, sending the Green Bay Packers their first- and second-round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft. From there, they immediately signed Adams to a five-year, $140 million contract extension. That contract officially kicks in this year.

Adams not only had reservations about the moves by the front office but also about the team’s vision for the offense, which will now have Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback.

“[The front office] think this is the best bet for us right now to put us in a position to be urgent,” said Adams, h/t The Ringer. “We don’t see eye-to-eye on what we think is best for us right now.”

Near the end of the 2022 season, the Raiders opted to bench Derek Carr in favor of Jarrett Stidham, which opened the door for his exit. Sure enough, after not being able to hash out a trade, the Raiders released Carr, who went on to sign with the New Orleans Saints. The Raiders needed to address the quarterback position, and they signed Garoppolo, who had spent time earlier in his career with the New England Patriots alongside McDaniels and Ziegler.

Las Vegas is banking on Garoppolo being able to produce efficiently in McDaniels’ offense. While Adams was a bit critical of the team’s direction, he is on board. And for fans who were wanting their favorite team to trade for Adams, that doesn’t seem realistic, based on his dead cap hits in 2023 and 2024.