Although the NFL’s new league year has not started, significant changes have occurred in the receiving game.
During Super Bowl week, the Los Angeles Rams informed wide receiver Cooper Kupp that he wouldn’t be part of the plans moving forward and that the team would seek a trade partner. Kupp is still a member of the Rams roster heading into the new league year, but a move should be coming sooner rather than later.
Over the weekend, the San Francisco 49ers traded wide receiver Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders for a fifth-round pick. Trading Samuel wasn’t surprising to anyone since the team informed him they would move in a different direction.
On Tuesday, the New York Jets released Davante Adams after acquiring him at the trade deadline this past season. Adams was only in New York to play with quarterback Aaron Rodgers. However, the Jets are not expected to return the 41-year-old quarterback this season.
With Adams on the open market, teams will jump all over him for his services, but do the Buffalo Bills make sense for the 32-year-old wide receiver?
The Bills Should Go After Adams
Pursuing a veteran playmaker who remains one of the top 20 wide receivers in the league is always a smart move. The Jets released Adams because they couldn’t find a trade partner willing to take on his salary. There is a growing belief that the former six-time Pro Bowler will not demand a high price this offseason.
Typically, non-quarterbacks entering their 12th season do not have massive paydays. Adams could get more money from a team like the New England Patriots, who have the most cap space in the NFL.
If Adams isn’t chasing the money and wants to be part of a winning team, Buffalo would be a great fit. The Bills have been looking for a veteran wide receiver for the past season. They traded for Cleveland Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper last October, but the trade didn’t pan out. Cooper will be a free agent this offseason, and it’s unlikely that he will return to Orchard Park next year.
Adams could team up wide receiver Khalil Shakir, who just cashed in on a four-year $60 million contract extension. Quarterback Josh Allen proved last season that he didn’t need a superstar receiver to excel, as he won his first NFL Most Valuable Player Award without a top-20 receiver on his roster. Imagine the potential of what Allen could accomplish with all the skills he developed this past year, now having Adams to throw to.
Signing Adams is a wise decision with no downside. If he proves to be excellent, it’s a win; if not, the Bills didn’t have to sacrifice or pay anything significant for him.
Even though the Bills have all the right ingredients for a player of Adams’s skill set, that doesn’t mean Buffalo checks all the boxes for him.
Adams Might Not Want Buffalo
Adams grew up in California and played college football at Fresno State. NFL Networks Ian Rapoport reported that the understanding of Adams playing on the West Coast is real. Few teams in California need another wide receiver: the Los Angeles Chargers, the Rams, and the 49ers. All three teams are also playoff contenders, so Adams would be joining a team close to the Bills’ skill level without leaving his home state.
Another factor in Adams’s not wanting to go to Buffalo is his buddy Aaron Rodgers. Unless Allen retries, Rodgers won’t be going to Buffalo. Rodgers doesn’t have a home yet for this upcoming season, and with quarterback Matthew Stafford reporting back to the Rams, that takes out his most likely destination.
There’s a chance that Rodgers retries, but if he wants to play again, Adams could wish to play with him again.
The odds of Buffalo signing Adams aren’t high; however, if no team on the West Coast wants him or Rodgers doesn’t want to play again, the Bills could be a serious threat to sign him.
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