For months now the Buffalo Bills have been linked to a potential trade with the Arizona Cardinals to acquire DeAndre Hopkins. Those rumors seem to have slowed as of late, particularly since the draft. But there is a new All-Pro receiver that seems unhappy with his current situation, could the Bills strike a deal?
The Hopkins trade rumors have died down since the draft concluded. There is always a chance this deal could still happen, but it's seeming less and less likely at this point. But what about another option, what about another All-Pro receiver that does not appear to be happy with his current situation? Davante Adams recently made some comments about his current team, the Las Vegas Raiders.
Update: Davante Adams on the #Raiders front office:
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) May 16, 2023
"We don’t see eye-to-eye on what we think is best for us right now."
"I'm going to have to buy into this and try to be as optimistic as possible. It’s not what I expected to happen, but it’s something that’s the reality now." pic.twitter.com/1WXm5sxBNT
I'm with Adams on this one, I don't know what the Raiders are doing over there in Las Vegas, and if he wants out, I don't blame him. They let Derek Carr go, traded away one of the best tight ends in the game, and won't sign Josh Jacobs, one of the top running backs in the NFL, to a long-term deal. I get it, I know running backs are considered a dime a dozen these days but when you have one of the best, why not lock him up in a second contract, then you can move on after that.
Regardless, the incompetence of the Raiders and head coach Josh McDaniels is the rest of the league's opportunity to take advantage of, so why shouldn't the Bills make a call? At least gauge what the Raiders might be willing to do if a trade is something they would consider.
Could the Buffalo Bills make it work with Davante Adams?
Adams is due a base salary of just over $6 million for the 2023 season. The Bills could make this happen and restructure the deal later to help alleviate the cap hit later down the road. So, the money isn't an issue and could work.
I'm confident if Brandon Beane has a way to work with D-Hop on a restructure that fits the Bills' salary cap, then he can do the same for Davante Adams. The true obstacle is the financial hit on the Raiders, but according to PFF, the Raiders could trade Adams after June 1 and take on a dead money figure of only $7.85 million, plus another $23.55 million in 2024.
I'm not an NFL general manager or a self-proclaimed capologists, so I won't sit here and pretend to fully understand how the salary cap and contract details fit together but if the folks at PFF say it can be done, then that works for me.
It's unlikely a move like this would happen, but it's still fun to talk about. Who knows, crazier things have happened in the NFL. I'm sure no one expected A.J. Brown to get traded on draft day to the Eagles or Russell Wilson to be traded to the Broncos. Besides, it's Josh McDaniels, you never know what his next questionable move might be. He's already proven once before that he's not a very good coach and doesn't know what he's doing.