Two days after reports emerged that the New York Jets were shopping Davante Adams for a trade, they have released the six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver, according to ESPN and NFL Network.
NFL Network reported Sunday that the Jets were “taking calls” on trade offers for Adams and “open to trading him” before the start of the new league year on March 12. The report also said the Jets would likely release Adams if they can’t find a trade partner. It seems they got their answer pretty early in the offseason.
This was expected for multiple reasons, starting with Jets’ decision last month to move on from quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who is a close friend of Adams. After that, it always felt like a matter of when, not if, the Jets would be parting ways with Adams.
Still, there was always a slight chance the Jets would decide to keep Adams – who looked like he had a lot of gas left in the tank last year, finishing with 85 catches for 1,063 yards and eight touchdowns. At the Combine last week, coach Aaron Glenn sounded like he hadn’t closed the door on the possibility of keeping Adams.
“Listen, he’s on the team right now, and we’ve got to continue to have conversations about how we’re going to move [forward],” Glenn said. “But listen, again, we’re in the business of collecting good players, and we’ll see how that goes moving forward.”
Adams’ contract was the biggest reason (outside of the Rodgers decision) they couldn’t keep him. Adams is set to count $38.3 million against the cap, and the Jets were never going to keep him on the books at that number at this stage of his career, even if Rodgers was on the team. But they save $29.9 million by cutting him before the new year.
With Adams gone and Allen Lazard almost certainly on the way out after his disappointing tenure, wide receiver is now a top priority for the Jets this offseason. The Jets don’t have a single proven receiver behind Garrett Wilson, and the next two on the depth chart are both coming off extremely underwhelming seasons.
Xavier Gipson, who was billed as a starting quality slot receiver, had six catches for 39 yards and a touchdown last season. And 2024 third-round pick Malachi Corley, who was expected to line up everywhere as a game-changing rookie weapon, could barely get on the field. He had three catches for 16 yards and his most memorable play was a botched touchdown celebration against the Texans, in which he dropped the ball before crossing the goalline, negating his only positive contribution of the season.
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