Davante Adams could end up on two very different teams. Let’s work out the best spot.
Davante Adams is now on the trading block and everyone is wondering where he will land. We’ve already discussed the teams that would be the best fit, but new information from Adam Schefter indicates the decision will come down to two teams, two quarterbacks — both who have played with Adams before.
Two teams high on Davante Adams’ wishlist of places to land – if not at the very top – are the Jets and Saints, per league sources.
Adams ideally would like to play with a QB he knows. The Jets have former teammate Aaron Rodgers, and the Saints have former teammate Derek Carr. pic.twitter.com/uTBW4kJuq5
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 2, 2024
The Jets have done everything in their power to give Rodgers everything he wants and needs to win a Super Bowl. Meanwhile the Saints are swinging well above their weight class in 2024, quickly becoming a playoff hopeful with a chance to make noise in a wide open NFC.
Today Mark Schofield and James Dator present their cases for both teams to the honorable football judge J.P. Acosta to try and determine which is the best place for Davante Adams to end up.
Adams should go to the Jets — by Mark Schofield
Good morning counsel, and members of the court.
There are very few indisputable facts in the National Football League. But one is this.
Aaron Rodgers is a quarterback that thrives with familiarity, and chemistry.
When Rodgers made a move from the Green Bay Packers to the New York Jets, one of the major questions facing the team was how quickly he could get on the same page with the new receivers he would be playing with in New York. While early returns during training camp a year ago were positive, Rodgers’ 2023 campaign with the Jets ended after just three plays.
Now, four games into the 2024 season, Rodgers and the Jets sit at 2-2 and are coming off a brutal loss to the visiting Denver Broncos last weekend, a game that saw Rodgers complete just 57% of his passes. Certainly, the weather conditions at MetLife Stadium played a role, and Rodgers entered the game against Denver having thrown for five touchdowns against a single interception on the season. But for a team with Super Bowl aspirations — and an organization that admits they are under pressure to deliver this year — they need to do everything possible to make that happen.
If there is a way to improve his chemistry with the receivers around him, the Jets need to make such a move.
Enter Davante Adams.
When the two were together in Green Bay, their chemistry — particularly on back-shoulder throws — was a massive reason for the Packers’ success on the offensive side of the ball. Reuniting the duo would immediately boost the chemistry Rodgers has with the receivers in New York, and jump-start their offensive production.
After all, this duo combined for 622 catches for 7,590 yards and 69 touchdowns over 108 games together.
The Jets might have just one season to make this work with Rodgers, so they need to do everything they can to make that happen.
Now my esteemed counsel may raise arguments about podcasts and ayahuasca, and question Rodgers’ commitment to the Jets for this season and beyond. But if he is reunited with one of his favorite receivers, the ayahuasca will wait.
Davante’s best home is in New Orleans — by James Dator
I can’t believe I’m about to argue for playing with Derek Carr over Aaron Rodgers, but the NFL in 2024 is a very weird place. Fundamentally my argument boils down to two key factors: Potential this season, and what the future holds.
It’s almost as if we’ve forgotten that Davante Adams went to the Pro Bowl in 2022 with the Raiders where he put up 1,516 yards receiving and 14 touchdowns. It’s abundantly clear that Adams has a similar rapport with Carr that he had with Rodgers, and the two can be extremely productive together. Now, take that potential and take it to a whole other level.
Derek Carr is playing the best football of his career right now in Klint Kubiak’s offense. He’s getting phenomenal production out of Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed, both of whom are on pace for over 1,000 yards receiving this year. If you add Adams to the mix there’s a strong argument to be made that the Saints have the best receiving corps in the NFL, and it immediately transforms the league’s No. 1 scoring offense into an absolute monster.
Who do the Saints have to contend with along the way to the playoffs? The NFC South is wide open, and it makes it exceptionally easy to imagine the Saints winning the division and getting a first week bye. In New York the Jets are destined to play second fiddle to the Bills, with or without Adams — making their path to the postseason considerably more difficult.
Then it comes to what the future holds. There is a team out in 2025 that could void the remainder of Adams’ contract, potentially forcing him to find a new team in free agency. So, where is he going to shine more in the next four months? On the NFL’s No. 1 offense that passes a ton and with a quarterback who can throw deep and open up big catches, or with the Jets who have trouble moving the ball vertically, are in the league’s bottom-third in scoring, and who preach more of a run/pass balance than the Saints.
Alternatively, if we assume both teams would keep Adams into 2025 and beyond then which is the more stable organization? Derek Carr is 33 and will be the quarterback for the Saints for the foreseeable future, while Aaron Rodgers is just as likely to walk away from the NFL all together and start a podcast about the medicinal properties of gila monster saliva — leaving the Jets in a hopeless lurch.
This isn’t even an argument. Adams should go to the Saints, shine, make the playoffs and see if this wacky team can’t build into a NFC Championship contender around a high-powered offense.
The verdict — JP Acosta
First off, I would like to thank Counsel Schofield and Counsel Dator for their very compelling cases. Davante Adams’ future destination will more than likely be settled before the NFL trade deadline but that doesn’t mean we can’t prognosticate at all. Both teams make compelling arguments, but in the case of which team should Adams prefer, I’ll have to side with Counsel Schofield and the New York Jets.
This is the best combination of talent and need, as the Jets still don’t have a quality second receiver. Allen Lazard leads the team in receiving, but he’s best suited in a WR3 role instead of the one that he’s in now. Garrett Wilson hasn’t exactly shown the same mind meld with Rodgers as Adams has with Rodgers, so bringing in another guy like Davante should help free up more touches for Wilson as he continues to grow. Make no mistake, the long term future of the Jets might be a little bit cloudy, but Adams is also in his 30s. He’s looking to win a Super Bowl now, and I think the Jets might be a better team, with a better QB than the Saints.
