Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams are finally reunited after more than two years of separation and one year of speculation — and now they’ll try to save the New York Jets’ sinking season.
The Jets acquired the disgruntled Adams from the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday, sending a conditional third-round pick in next year’s draft, which could become a second-rounder.
“We’re back, man,” Adams said while briefly joining Rodgers at the Jets’ facility in Florham Park, New Jersey, for the quarterback’s weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “We’re back.”
The deal was agreed upon Tuesday morning and was contingent on Adams passing his physical. The teams announced the trade a few hours later.
“Obviously, I’m really excited,” said Rodgers, who spoke to Adams a few hours after the Jets’ 23-20 loss to Buffalo on Monday night and the wide receiver told him he was joining him in New York.
“I love Tae,” the quarterback added. “He’s a phenomenal player and a dear friend.”
The 31-year-old Adams immediately boosts a Jets offense that has been inconsistent through the first part of the season. The three-time All-Pro joins Garrett Wilson to give Rodgers two No. 1-caliber wide receivers to throw to, complementing fellow receivers Mike Williams, Allen Lazard and Xavier Gipson, tight end Tyler Conklin and running backs Breece Hall and Braelon Allen.
“It’s on us now,” Rodgers said. “We’re going all in.”
Adams, who missed the Raiders’ last three games with a hamstring injury, reportedly told the team he wanted out of Las Vegas — and the team was willing to accommodate his request.
“I’m feeling great, man,” Adams said, adding he got lots of treatment from the Raiders’ training staff. “Fortunately, I’ll be able to roll.”
Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said he was “ecstatic” to have Adams join the team, but added that it was too early to assess whether the wide receiver will be ready to play Sunday night at Pittsburgh.
And Adams is back with Rodgers, the quarterback with whom he enjoyed eight seasons of success catching passes from in Green Bay.
“He’s made me look good a lot of times,” Rodgers said. “We got better today.”
It seemed inevitable, especially when the Jets reportedly showed interest in Adams last year at the NFL trade deadline. Rodgers said at a celebrity golf tournament over the summer: “I love Davante. I can’t wait to play with him … again.” With a smile, Rodgers said during training camp he meant on the golf course, but it was enough to fuel speculation that at some point — somehow — the Jets would move to bring in Adams.
The deal came less than 12 hours after the Jets lost to the Bills, a game in which Rodgers threw a Hail Mary just before halftime but also was intercepted on New York’s final drive for the second straight week. It was a game marked by penalties, mistakes and missed opportunities on offense, and dropped the Jets to 2-4 amid a three-game skid.
“It’s frustrating,” Rodgers said. “I’m here to win those games, but we’ve got to be on our details. It’s little things every single time.”
The trade also caps what has been a tumultuous last seven days for the Jets. Two days after losing to Minnesota in London, owner Woody Johnson fired head coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday and defensive coordinator Ulbrich was tapped to replace him as the interim. Ulbrich then demoted offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and replaced him with pass game coordinator Todd Downing on Wednesday.
And now the Jets have made a major deal to bring in Adams, one of Rodgers’ best friends and favorite teammates. Adams has caught 615 passes from Rodgers for 7,517 yards and 68 touchdowns, all in Green Bay. That’s the most in all three categories between any combination of active players.
Adams’ departure from Las Vegas was expected after reports surfaced that he no longer wanted to be there — and the Jets immediately became a likely landing spot because of his relationship with Rodgers.
In his weekly appearance on the “Up & Adams Show” two weeks ago, Adams said he hadn’t heard from Antonio Pierce since the Raiders coach appeared to like a social media post about possibly trading Adams.
That was the first sure sign that a split could be coming, though an Adams trade has long been speculated given several statements he has made for more than a year. That included clear frustration he showed on the Netflix documentary series “Receiver” in which Adams’ season was among those featured.
Adams remains one of the NFL’s top receivers, even at nearly 32, because of his precise route running and ability to catch passes, even while double teamed. He caught 103 passes last season for 1,144 yards and eight touchdowns. It was his fifth 1,000-yard season in six years, broken up only by the 997 yards Adams had in 2019.
He has caught 18 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown in three games this season.
The Raiders gave up a major haul in 2022 to get Adams when they sent the Packers first- and second-round picks in that year’s draft and made Adams the highest-paid receiver at the time with a five-year, $140 million contract, with nearly $66 million guaranteed.
His final two years in 2025 and 2026 are not guaranteed. Adams’ salary-cap hit rises from $25.35 million this season to $44.1 million each of the next two years, according to Spotrac. ESPN reported the Jets will assume the balance of Adams’ remaining salary, but it’s possible the sides could agree to a contract restructure to lower the wide receiver’s cap hit for this season.
“I’m sure there’s a few new, little nuances,” Adams said of fitting into New York’s offense. “But for the most part, a lot of the same verbiage. It’s still the same OG right here, so should be able to pick up where we left off. You know, that’s the idea.”
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AP Pro Football Writers Josh Dubow and Rob Maaddi and AP Sports Writer Mark Anderson contributed to this report.
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