NFL Insider hints NFC team wants Davante Adams: Which team needs him most?

Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams has not had a pleasant experience since leaving the Green Bay Packers. Although he has compiled plenty of individual accolades, the team’s offensive ineptitude has led to an abundance of frustration and a scarcity of success.

Former Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was a significant reason why Adams chose Las Vegas as his desired destination, but the Raiders made a quarterback change before Adams could even rekindle the chemistry with his former collegiate teammate. 

The Raiders entered the 2024 season with an underwhelming quarterback room that featured veteran quarterback Gardner Minshew and second-year quarterback Aiden O’Connell. So far, the results have been as expected. Through four games, the Raiders offense is ranked No. 24 in yards.

Davante Adams’ contract will be a major factor in trade talks

Adams formally requested a trade from the Raiders on Tuesday and one NFC team has already expressed interest in acquiring Adams, according to NFL Insider Josina Anderson. 

The team would not be willing to offer a second-round pick and would require some contract restructuring in order to remain compliant with the league’s salary cap.

There has been plenty of trade speculation surrounding Adams as his stint in Las Vegas nears its end, but most of the teams mentioned as ideal destinations don’t have the salary cap space to acquire Adams.

Two other teams reportedly told Anderson that Adams’ salary would play a big factor in any potential trade. 

Adams is in the third year of a five-year, $140 million contract with the Raiders in 2022. He has a $35.6 million base salary in 2025 and 2026, but those are not guaranteed and were only added for restructure flexibility and to increase the average annual value. Since the last two years of his deal are not practical, Adams is effectively in the final year of his current deal. 

Adams currently carries a $25.3 million salary cap hit for the Raiders, but any team that acquires the All-Pro wideout would only be responsible for paying the prorated remainder of his $16.89 million base salary. Since Adams has played four games with the Raiders, his salary cap hit would be approximately $13.5 million for the 2024 season. 

The team acquiring Adams would likely sign him to an extension or restructure to spread out his significant salary cap numbers in the next two years. Doing so would also allow teams to lower his salary cap hit for the 2024 season.

Which NFC team is interested in Davante Adams?

Based on Anderson’s reporting, some teams can be ruled out as the interested party.

Since the interested team that spoke with Anderson would require a restructure to acquire Adams, it’s likely that the team would not be able to fit Adams’ salary under their current salary cap space without restructuring.

Acquiring Adams is entirely unrealistic for four NFC teams that have less than $5 million in salary cap space: the Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints and New York Giants.

Five of the remaining 12 NFC teams have over $20 million in salary cap space and would not need to restructure Adams in order to acquire his salary cap hit this season: the San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals.

The Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings all have less than $11 million in salary cap space and don’t necessarily need a highly-paid wide receiver on their roster. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers certainly don’t need an expensive wide receiver either, so they can be crossed off the list as well.

That leaves just three NFC teams: the Philadelphia Eagles with $11.4 million in salary cap space, the Seattle Seahawks with $12.1 million in salary cap space and the Green Bay Packers with $14.2 million in salary cap space.

Green Bay would be able to acquire Adams since more than two years have surpassed since they traded him, and the Packers could certainly use his services. Although wide receiver Jayden Reed has emerged as a dynamic threat, the Packers have not been able to establish a clear No. 2 wide receiver behind him.

During an appearance on “The Rush” podcast, Adams hinted that he wouldn’t mind playing with Packers quarterback Jordan Love.

"At the time when I was [in Green Bay], I hadn't necessarily seen enough to say this is for sure what I should do," Adams said of his decision to leave the Packers. "But in hindsight, like we talked about, the kid is a f------ baller, man. I'm so happy for him. I haven't really had a chance to truly sit down and talk with him, but I want to tell him at some point like, 'I definitely don't regret changing [teams], but I'm super proud of what you've done. If there's a way I could pull you over here [to Las Vegas] and drag you with me like that, that would've been cool, too.' Obviously, we saw what he did at the end of the year. I don't regret what I did, but, at the same time, it's definitely you look back on it like, 'damn, that boy kind of balling right now.'"

The Eagles could also be interested, particularly since wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith have both been out with injuries.