It feels unlikely, but could the Lions make a deal to acquire Davante Adams?
The tea leaves were moving that way, perhaps for awhile, and here we are. On Tuesday, a report from ESPN's Adam Schefter said the Las Vegas Raiders were open to trading wide receiver Davante Adams was followed by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reporting Adams told the team he'd like to be traded.
Schefter added the Raiders would be willing to trade Adams for a "second-round pick and additional compensation." There are multiple possible suitors, with Schefter offering the New York Jets and New Orleans Saints as Adams' preferred destinations on Wednesday morning. Adams would apparently like to play with a quarterback he knows, which the Jets (Aaron Rodgers) and Saints (Derek Carr) of course have.
ESPN's weekly buzz column heading into Week 5 from Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler naturally featured Adams prominently. Graziano had the Detroit Lions on his list of potential suitors for Adams.
"The Jets, Cowboys, Commanders and Lions are among potentially interested teams with enough cap space to trade for Adams now. The Steelers, who currently have roughly $10.5 million in cap space, would probably need to wait until the deadline or find some other way of creating space. Adams also has two years left on his contract after this one, with scheduled salaries of $35.64 million in both 2025 and 2026. But none of that money is guaranteed, so there'd be no cap hit for the acquiring team next year if it released him at the end of the season."
NFL insider Josina Anderson followed up the initial reporting about Adams with a bit of extra insight.
"Just spoke to a league source indicating an NFC team would have interest in Davante Adams, but not currently for a 2nd-round pick. Sounds like restructuring would be needed in this* particular case too."
Could the Lions swoop in and acquire Davante Adams?
With the gradual emergence of Tim Patrick, the Lions' wide receiver problem doesn't exist quite like it did going into the season. Still, the prospect of them going "all in" to acquire Adams is there and at least one rival fanbase is fearing it.
Spotrac's Michael Ginnitti concisely broke down the financial implications attached to Adams' contract. Those big numbers in 2025 and 2026 are not guaranteed salary, so as a practical matter Adams is in the final year of his contract. The Raiders are not going to keep him around with those numbers, and an acquiring team would automatically restructure his deal.
The Lions have plenty of cap space ($28.19 million, according to Over The Cap) to take on whatever they'd have to of Adams' remaining money for this year. The final two years of his deal are a different matter, but as Graziano hinted Adams could become a rental for the team that acquires him.
It's easy to see the Lions being an NFC team that would have interest in Adams, but "not currently for a second-round pick" and with an contract restructure basically automatic, as Anderson reported.
Mike Payton of AtoZ Sports proposed, with the caveat of it not being likely, the Lions sending a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 third-round pick to the Raiders for Adams. Even with the Raiders seemingly losing leverage quickly, they can probably get a little more than third and fifth-round picks.
Beyond his apparent desire to play with a quarterback he knows, Adams presumably would like to go to a team that can win a Super Bowl. If not this year, then over the next couple years (the Jets and Saints are certainly iffy on that front). The Lions linger in the background, not widely mentioned as a potential suitor but easy to consider as the mystery NFC team Anderson hinted at.
