The Raiders are reportedly trading All-Pro WR Davante Adams to the Jets, ending months of speculation

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Las Vegas Raiders are trading All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams to the New York Jets.

The Jets are reportedly returning a conditional third-round draft pick that can become a second-round pick if he is either a first- or second-team All-Pro this season or on the active roster for the AFC Championship Game or the Super Bowl.

This trade comes less than 12 hours after the Jets suffered an ugly 23-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Monday night. It was the team's first game since the firing of head coach Robert Saleh, and the presence of newly appointed interim coach Jeff Ulbrich and new offensive signal-caller Todd Downing wasn't enough to save the Jets from costly mistakes.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers pointed out some of those flaws, particularly with his receiving corps, in a somber postgame press conference Monday night. From Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports:

Adams reportedly arrived in New Jersey on Monday night to facilitate the trade and a very familiar face was waiting for him: Rodgers, who was Adams' teammate on the Green Bay Packers for years. With the Jets' offense struggling, the hope is that reuniting Rodgers with one of his most successful on-field partners will help achieve all the success the team believes is out of reach.

The move ends a more than two-year tenure for Adams in Las Vegas.

The Raiders traded for Adams from the Packers in the 2022 offseason, then signed him to a five-year, $140 million contract with $65.7 million guaranteed. Las Vegas parted with a first- and second-round pick and acquired Adams, who had developed into one of the NFL's best receivers in eight seasons of catching passes from Rodgers.

The deal to Las Vegas reunited Adams with his college quarterback from Fresno State, Derek Carr. Adams was named first-team All-Pro for the third consecutive year in his first season with the Raiders. He had 100 catches for 1,516 yards and a league-high 14 touchdown receptions. Carr made the Pro Bowl for the first time since 2017 following Adams' arrival, but the Raiders finished 6-11. They benched Carr for the final two games of the season, preventing an injury guarantee on his contract from coming into effect.

Things have changed significantly in Las Vegas since then. The Raiders released Carr the following offseason and he signed with the New Orleans Saints. After a 3-5 start to the 2023 season, the Raiders fired head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager David Ziegler, who oversaw the deal to acquire Adams.

Antonio Pierce took over as interim coach and was hired permanently after leading the Raiders to a 5-4 record. But the 2024 season got off to a tumultuous start, including a tough home loss to a Carolina Panthers team that had just benched starting quarterback Bryce Young.

The Raiders subbed journeyman quarterback Gardner Minshew II in favor of Aidan O'Connell two weeks ago, but the results didn't get any better after a 32-13 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. They rank 27th in the league in overall offense and don't appear to be anywhere near competitive at 2-4. Ultimately, they concluded it made no sense to bring in a 31-year-old, six-time Pro Bowl receiver who would be better suited to help a team that is now poised to win.

The deal ends months of speculation that Adams was involved in the trade bloc. General manager Tom Telesco denied rumors in February that the Raiders wanted to trade Adams. The tone in Las Vegas changed when the Raiders got off to a bad start.

Pierce liked a Sports Illustrated report on social media in September that the Raiders were actively acquiring Adams on the trade market. A day later, Adams said he had not heard from Pierce or anyone at the Raiders about trade rumors or Pierce's social media activity.

It turns out the Raiders were actually willing to make a deal.