The Raiders have a long list of contracts that will need to be addressed after the season, but the Davante Adams deal might prove to be the most difficult.
Everyone is familiar with the trade rumors that have followed Adams for the last year, but what hasn’t been talked about as much is the looming decision the Raiders have to make on his contract.
Ari Meirov covers the NFL for The 33rd Team and he believes the Raiders might not want Adams’ massive contract on the books after this season.
As his deal is currently structured, Adams has a cap number will jump from $25.35 million this year to more than $44 million next year. Additionally, Meirov pointed out that Adams has no guaranteed money remaining on his deal after the 2024 season.
“[Davante Adams] is probably the one star player that if the team starts off poorly, we’re going to talk a lot about him in trade rumors,’ Meirov said on the NFL Spotlight podcast. “The reason I say that is not just because he might get frustrated because the quarterback play is not good. When you look at Davante Adams’ contract, he has no more guaranteed after this season.”
“When Davante Adams signed his contract, the last two years there are two inflated non-guaranteed base salaries in there… the chances of him seeing that money in 2025 and 2026 is very unlikely, even though [he] is a very good player,” Meirov continued. “In essence, as long as this contract stays the way it is and they don’t adjust it before the season starts, this could very well be his last season in Vegas, anyway. If this team does start off poorly at the trade deadline in November… I think Davante Adams is going to be a trade candidate.”
Adams and the Raiders can put on a good face in August, but the stars are lining up for the Raiders to seriously consider trade offers for Adams before the deadline. Even if the Raiders don’t have a bad start to the season, they are moving towards an offseason where they might have no choice but to give up assets for a franchise quarterback.
If Davante Adams is part of a trade that paves the way for the Raiders to get one of the top quarterbacks in the draft next year, would it be worth the loss of their soon-to-be 32-year-old wide receiver?
That’s an idea Raiders GM Tom Telesco is probably already kicking around in his head.
The other idea that might make sense for Telesco and company… could Davante’s presence on the Raiders be enough to lure a top veteran quarterback to Las Vegas next year?
