How Davante Adams Finally Became a New York Jet: A Reunion with Aaron Rodgers
Late on Monday night, New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers was stuck in postgame traffic outside MetLife Stadium, brooding over a 23-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills. At 12:15 a.m., his phone buzzed—it was Davante Adams. Despite the strong bond they’d formed during their time together with the Green Bay Packers, Rodgers didn’t pick up. His body ached, his mood soured after the Jets’ third consecutive loss, and the recent firing of head coach Robert Saleh hung over him like a dark cloud. He needed time alone.
However, Adams, Rodgers’ former partner in one of the NFL’s most dominant quarterback-receiver duos, wouldn’t be ignored. He called again just before 1 a.m. This time, Rodgers answered.
Adams, then still a Las Vegas Raider, was preparing to board a red-eye flight to New Jersey. The Raiders and Jets had finalized the details of a long-anticipated trade that would reunite Adams with his former Green Bay quarterback. Though the news was monumental, Adams didn’t jump right into it.
“We actually talked about the game for a good amount of time before I said anything about being on the way,” Adams recalled.
After Rodgers vented his frustrations about the game, Adams finally dropped the bombshell.
“He said he was getting on a plane, and I just kind of—my heart dropped,” Rodgers remembered. “I was like, ‘To where?'”
The answer? New York. The Jets had won the race to secure Adams, who had been seeking a trade after his turbulent time with the Raiders. Teams like the New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Buffalo Bills had also expressed interest, but it was the Jets who made the deal.
For Rodgers, the news transformed his night. What had started as a tough evening quickly turned into one filled with hope and excitement.
“It definitely put him in a much better mood,” Adams said.
A Rocky Path for Davante Adams
Just 10 days before the trade, the Raiders had seemingly moved on from their star wide receiver. Head coach Antonio Pierce had given a rallying speech to his team, highlighting the importance of unity and next-man-up mentality before their Week 5 matchup against the Denver Broncos. But conspicuously absent from the team’s highlight reel was Adams, a three-time first-team All-Pro.
From the Raiders’ perspective, Adams had mentally checked out. He had suffered a hamstring injury in late September but looked fit enough to play by the time the team faced Denver. But Adams felt let down by the Raiders, especially after the departure of his close friend and former quarterback Derek Carr. Adams and Carr had orchestrated his move to Las Vegas in March 2022, but after Carr was benched and subsequently released, Adams’ enthusiasm for the Raiders quickly faded.
He had tried to support Carr’s replacement, Jarrett Stidham, but when the Raiders signed an injured Jimmy Garoppolo in 2023, Adams grew increasingly frustrated with the team’s front office decisions. By early October, Adams admitted he hadn’t had high expectations when joining the Raiders, but he hadn’t anticipated such a rocky experience either.
“It’s not what I wanted, for sure,” Adams confessed. “Obviously, I wanted to come here and have a big impact, continue to play at a high level and win games. And a lot of those things have happened—just not the winning part.”
By the time the 2023 season concluded, Adams had grown disillusioned, and the Raiders finished with an 8-9 record. When 2024 rolled around, Adams was done. His frustration boiled over during the Netflix series “Receiver,” where he vented about the struggles he faced during the 2023 season.
The breaking point came after a Week 4 win against the Browns, when Adams met with Pierce and General Manager Tom Telesco to deliver the news: he wanted out. His preferred destination? The New York Jets.
The Jets’ Relentless Pursuit of Adams
The Jets had been eyeing Adams for a while. General Manager Joe Douglas never gave up on bringing the elite wide receiver to New York, particularly knowing how much it would please Rodgers. In 2022, they had missed out on Tyreek Hill, and at last year’s trade deadline, they inquired about Adams. Though initially rebuffed, Douglas kept tabs on Adams’ situation in Las Vegas and jumped at the opportunity when the timing was right.
Talks between the Jets and Raiders intensified in early October 2024, culminating in a deal that would send Adams to New York just two days after the Jets’ trip to London. The Jets agreed to cover Adams’ remaining $11.6 million salary for this season and threw in a conditional third-round draft pick. If Adams performs at an elite level, the pick could be upgraded to a second-rounder.
Rodgers, thrilled to reunite with his former Packers teammate, called the trade “very surreal.”
“It’s something that, when we get together in the offseasons, we joke about,” Rodgers said, “but it never seemed like a possibility.”
Adams’ Arrival in New York: A New Chapter
On Tuesday morning, just hours after landing in New Jersey, Adams and Rodgers sat next to each other in the Jets’ team meeting. As they reunited, Rodgers leaned over to Adams and said, “How crazy is this?”
For Adams, it’s a chance to reignite his career and help push the Jets toward playoff contention. For Rodgers, it’s an opportunity to rekindle the magic that helped him win back-to-back MVPs in 2020 and 2021 with Adams by his side. Together, they hope to bring that same winning chemistry to the Jets.
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