Aaron Rodgers spent eight seasons throwing the football to Davante Adams in Green Bay. For Adams, five of those eight seasons ended with a trip to the Pro Bowl. Rodgers enjoyed seven Pro Bowl trips in that timeframe himself. Both Rodgers and Adams were named first-team All-Pros during each of their last two seasons together as they formed the league’s top quarterback-wideout duo. With Adams at his side, Rodgers took home the NFL’s Most Valuable Player Award in both 2020 and 2021.
The glory days, indeed.
Adams has since been traded to his childhood team, the Raiders, and Rodgers to the New York Jets. Being separated hasn’t stopped the two from thinking about a reunion, however.
Earlier in July, Rodgers briefly touched on his relationship with Adams. “I love Davante,” the Jets’ quarterback noted. “I can’t wait to play with him.. again.” On the Up & Adams Show, Davante Adams revealed Rodgers has expressed similar sentiments to him in private. Not long after, Adams addressed his thoughts on a possible reunion.
“I’m locked in with the Raiders, and I really feel good about this team,” Adams said to Shannon Sharpe on his Club Shay Shay podcast. “If I’m going to be reunited with anybody, it would be Aaron,” the 31-year-old later added.
The sentiments from both Rodgers and Adams understandably sparked trade rumors, which Adams’ agents quickly shot down.
Still, it’s entirely possible that Rodgers and Adams once again become teammates before one of the two decide to hang up their cleats–just not with the Jets. Instead, the stars may be aligning for the four-time MVP to quarterback in Las Vegas.
Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams: A reunion that’s more likely to happen with the Las Vegas Raiders than New York Jets
The connection between the Jets and Davante Adams dates back to the NFL’s 2023 trade deadline. During this time, New York dialed up the phone with hopes of prying Adams away from Las Vegas. Talks didn’t advance as the Raiders stated they were not interested in trading their All-Pro wideout.
Per one source, there was “no chance in hell” that Las Vegas was moving on from Adams.
The dead cap hit alone caused by trading Adams was enough to keep the Raiders uninterested in shipping their superstar receiver elsewhere. And, although the dead cap hit from such a trade has decreased in 2024, it’s still too high of a number for the Silver and Black to entertain.
However, in 2025, Adams has an ‘out’ in his contract. Trading him would welcome only $15.7 million in dead cap as opposed to the more-than-double number it does today. If Adams is to be traded, it would almost certainly happen next offseason when this potential out is in play.
By this time, Rodgers will be in the last year of his contract while Adams’ cap hit reaches $44.1 million in both 2025 and 2026.
Sure, the Jets could acquire Adams and give Rodgers an extension, but that doesn’t make much sense for either side. For the Jets, there’s no need to allocate $44.1 million of cap room to a receiver who turns 33 years old in 2025 when you have a stud 24-year-old wideout in Garrett Wilson and a rookie receiver you’re plenty excited about in Malachi Corley. As far as a reliable veteran presence goes, the Jets also added Mike Williams to their roster this offseason.
On the Raiders’ side, Adams’ age and large cap hit negatively affect his trade value moving forward despite his greatness. Keeping him simply makes more sense.
Aaron Rodgers’ path to Las Vegas
By now, it’s well-noted that the Jets reached out for Davante Adams last season. What isn’t as well-noted is that the Raiders reached out to the Packers last offseason for Rodgers. Unfortunately, the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement and Rodgers opted to be a Jet while Las Vegas opted to sign Jimmy Garoppolo.
This marked the Raiders’ first chance to land Aaron Rodgers. Luckily, a second chance seems to be waiting around the corner.
It all starts with the current quarterback situation in Las Vegas. Between Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew, Sin City lacks a franchise quarterback. And, unless one of those two take a monster leap forward this upcoming season, that will remain the case.
This opens up the door for Rodgers to come in and effortlessly take the reins under center. The Raiders would instantly be in a better position both now and when Rodgers inevitably retires.
Setting up a successful future post-Aaron Rodgers
If Rodgers is to sign with the Raiders when his current contract expires, he will be 42 years old. Las Vegas will need to prepare for the future at this point, which they can do by drafting a quarterback in the meantime.
If the team elects to not draft a quarterback within the next two years, that’s fine too as Aidan O’Connell will still be under contract.
Ultimately, this means whichever up-and-coming quarterback on the Raiders’ roster set to take over after Rodgers’ retirement will get the chance to learn from a future Hall of Fame quarterback. Jordan Love had that opportunity for two seasons and after only one year of being a starter, Love became the highest-paid quarterback, annually, in league history.
O’Connell, for example, may lack many physical attributes showcased by Love, but Rodgers can still help take his game to the next level. The strength in O’Connell’s game is his intelligence; it’s rare to see him force throws or play beyond his limits. Although he tossed three interceptions against Miami, O’Connell totaled less than one interception every other game during his remaining 10 outings.
Not forcing turnovers is one of Rodgers’ best attributes, as proven by his 4.52 career touchdown: interception ratio; the highest mark in NFL history.
The lone question is if Rodgers will want to play football that long. When he signed his new deal with the Jets, he mentioned the possibility of playing football until around age 45.
Rodgers isn’t young anymore, but age isn’t everything when you’re a generational talent. Tom Brady, for example, catapulted the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl victory at 43 years old.
Perhaps Rodgers can do the same with the Raiders.
*Top Photo: ETHAN MILLER/GETTY IMAGES