Earlier Wednesday afternoon, we looked into the situations surrounding the Raiders and Broncos’ paths to a quarterback upgrade in this draft. The Broncos are limited with draft capital, which has drawn speculation they could consider moving Patrick Surtain. The Raiders have a chip to dangle as well, if they so choose.
Tom Telesco said earlier this offseason he was not planning to make Davante Adams available in trades, but the All-Pro wide receiver has come up on a few occasions before. And he would make sense as an asset the Raiders could unload if they truly sought to move near the top of the draft.
Adams said from his youth football camp recently if he wanted to be gone he would indeed be out. While he is now 31 and on a Raiders team in transition, the former Packers star is viewed as a player Mark Davis wants to keep. Although Adams could potentially be used to help the Raiders add draft capital to then make a move up the board, the Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora notes Davis is believed to “strongly prefer” Adams be retained to pair with a young quarterback.
It is not yet known if the Raiders will come away from the draft with a passer positioned to eventually take over for Gardner Minshew, though Michael Penix Jr. is coming up as a potential Jayden Daniels consolation prize. A rookie-QB contract would also pair better with Adams’ $28M-per-year accord compared to those of Derek Carr and Jimmy Garoppolo.
Adams was among the players who stumped for Antonio Pierce this winter. Josh Jacobs joined him, though the former rushing champion is now gone. Three seasons remain on Adams’ contract, which contains a full guarantee for his 2024 base salary ($16.89M). Beyond this year, no guarantees remain. That will make Adams easier to move, though the compensation the Raiders could acquire will stand to decrease as the veteran standout ages.
Accumulating draft capital would be the only benefit for the Raiders in an Adams trade; moving the 11th-year veteran would cost them $23.6M in dead money while bringing back next to no cap savings. Of course, a long-term QB move would dwarf the importance of Adams on this year’s roster. Another Adams trade was once rumored to be likely this offseason, but as the draft nears, signs are pointing against the Raiders moving their top pass-catcher.
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