After two years and some change with the Las Vegas Raiders, three-time first-team All-Pro wideout Davante Adams decided to move onto the next chapter of his career; a move that was always the end-result regardless of Adams’ wants.
The writing was on the wall once the then-Raiders regime decided to move on from Derek Carr 16 weeks into his first season reunited with Adams. Adams, who came to Las Vegas turning 30 that December, was at the part of his career where it was time to win immediately. There was no time waiting to find a new quarterback, including drafting one, because the window Adams offered was anywhere between 2-4 years.
The Raiders closed that window tightly once they decided to search for a new quarterback following Adams’ 30th birthday.
Acquiring a soon-to-be 30-year-old receiver is a move that a team makes when they’re ready to go all-in. It isn’t a move made by a team that needs more time to get additional pieces together, because there is no time to give.
Already, after only two full seasons and some weeks with the Raiders, Adams is set to turn 32 years old before the year’s end. There was no opening the window back up, even if Las Vegas’ general manager Tom Telesco managed to snag a quarterback in this past year’s draft.
Had Telesco been gifted a rookie quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft such as Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye, or even first-overall pick Caleb Williams, the Raiders would have had a year or two to make it work. By the time that quarterback would be in his third NFL season, Adams would be turning 34 years old.
34 years of age is quite a significant number for star wideouts throughout NFL history.
Las Vegas Raiders start their Tuesday by trading star wideout Davante Adams
The National Football League has had no shortage of superstar wideouts through the last three decades: Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, Marvin Harrison Sr., Larry Fitzgerald, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Calvin Johnson and Julio Jones, to name a few. Players such as Andre Johnson and Reggie Wayne are two other names who tortured opposing defenses for years.
All of the above-mentioned all-time great wideouts share one similar experience: 34 years of age marked their last efficient season, or their last Pro Bowl.
In fact, only six receivers in the history of the NFL were able to make a Pro Bowl past 34. Only 14 receivers – seven since 2000 – have been able to make one at 34 or older.
The power of 34
For players such as Moss and Holt, 34 marked the time to hang up the cleats. Julio Jones elected to play as a 34-year-old, but called it a career after his 11-catch, 74-yard season. Even Hall-of-Famer Andre Johnson was only able to muster up 588 receiving yards and 50 catches during his two seasons played at 34 and 35 years old combined.
Fitzgerald managed to have a 1,000-yard campaign which ended in a Pro Bowl nod during his 34-year-old season. However, he’d fail to reach either of those marks again during the remainder of his career. Harrison Sr., Bruce, and Reggie Wayne walked the same path as Larry Legend after 34.
Owens was able to crack 1,000 by 52 yards after turning 35, but 34 marked his last Pro Bowl appearance.
How many ‘golden years’ does Davante Adams have in the tank? Or, perhaps there aren’t any left.
Numbers aside, Adams’ tape has already shown signs of slowing down heading into the age of 32. Although he’s still liable to make a catch that leaves fans in awe, they’ve grown increasingly few and far between.
In 2023, Adams totaled the third-most drops league-wide via Pro Football Focus (9). Despite missing three contests, Adams has been responsible for two drops this season already; only 14 players have totaled more. No player with at least two drops has appeared in less than four contests this season, aside from Davante Adams.
How should Raider Nation feel about the Adams’ trade?
It’s remarkable that the Raiders managed to escape from the Davante Adams-era without a trace of it ever happening. Adams was set to have a $44.1 million cap hit in 2025, and another $44.1 million in 2026. Now, thanks to the deal Tom Telesco managed to strike with the New York Jets, all of that is off of the Raiders’ books.
For that reason, alongside Adams’ age, Raider Nation should be relieved of the deal. That’s a win for the Raiders.
The loss, however, was trading for Adams in the first place. The minute Derek Carr’s fate was sealed, so was the fate of Las Vegas with their All-Pro wideout. Giving up on the vision the then-Raiders regime traded a first- and second-round pick for after 15 weeks was a fireable offense in itself. Unsurprisingly, that same regime found themselves jobless less than halfway through the very next NFL season.
A team cannot trade for a soon-to-be 29-year-old wideout without being sure of themselves first. If a person ever wondered why that is, they won’t need to look any further than the Las Vegas Raiders.
As such, the trade for Adams can be, and should be summarized as Sin City blatantly wasting a first- and second-round selection in the 2023 NFL Draft. That’s the part where Raider Nation shouldn’t be happy.
But that’s all in the past now.
Present day: Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets
The New York Jets, a team sure of themselves behind four-time MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers, welcomed Adams with open arms on Tuesday. While Adams didn’t fit the timeline of the Raiders, he fits perfectly with that of the Jets as New York looks to maximize their window left open by 40-year-old Aaron Rodgers under center.
That’s what a team that trades for an older wideout does – go all-in to maximize their newfound window. The Raiders failed to do that when trading for the veteran originally. Sin City walks away from the Adams-era with a 15-22 in games No. 17 appeared in as a result.
In the meantime, Las Vegas’ new front office did everything in their power to rectify the situation. Preventing a situation such as this one from happening in the first place is the next step for the Silver and Black.
*Top Photo: Justin Edmonds/Getty Images
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