The Jets Make a Blockbuster Trade to Turn Their Season Around
After a less-than-stellar start to the 2024-25 NFL season, the New York Jets felt the need to mix things up. After a shocking move to fire head coach Robert Saleh during the season, they decided that their next move would be even more monumental. After another disappointing loss to the Buffalo Bills, rumors began to swirl around the Jets potentially trading for the Oakland Raiders receiver Davante Adams. Adams, who was recently dealing with a hamstring injury, is an all-league receiver when healthy and would provide new life for this sputtering Jets offense. Finally, Oct. 15 rolled around and the details of the rumor became fact. Adams will be playing in Met-Life Stadium, alongside his former teammate and NFL superstar Aaron Rodgers. This put an end to a weeks-long standoff between Adams and the Raiders front office. In the trade package for Adams, the Raiders received a conditional 2025 third-round pick that can become a second-round pick if Adams makes the first or second-team All-Pro, or if the Jets make the AFC Championship Game or the Super Bowl, per NFL network insider Tom Pelissero.
Rodgers-Adams Connection
The tandem of Rodgers and Adams was elite throughout their time in Green Bay. Rodgers and Adams had immense success, especially in the regular season as the dynamic duo put up monstrous statistics. During their eight seasons together, they routinely made the playoffs as well as leading high-scoring offenses. This connection between quarterback and receiver is viewed as one of the most talented in the league’s history, culminating in multiple MVP trophies for Rodgers and multiple 100-catch/1,000 yards seasons for Adams in their time as teammates in Wisconsin. After two years apart, it seemed as though a reunion would eventually come to pass.
NFL Contention
With as much individual success as Rodgers and Adams enjoyed as teammates together, it never translated sufficiently into the playoffs. The Packers consistently underperformed in the postseason, leaving many fans to wonder how such a historic pairing could fail on the biggest stage. The most notable stain on their playoff careers was during the 2021-22 season when the Packers lost 13-10 to the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round. This was a healthy Rodgers coming off of an MVP season, and the Packers holding the best record in the league. With these playoff blunders, it keeps fans of the team skeptical on whether a reunion will be for the best, as it was for Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski in Tampa Bay, or if it will only produce more of the same disappointment that plagued the Packers in the years leading up to their roster deconstruction.
Despite their insufficient offense to start the season, the Jets’ defense have shown signs of elite play so far. Through seven games, the team’s defense has allowed some of the fewest yards per carry and yards per reception in the league, as well as holding most teams below their average amount of points for the year. This stands in contrast to the many years that the duo of Rodgers and Adams played in Green Bay. During Rodgers’ 15-year career in Green Bay, the Packers only had a top-10 defense four times. With a stout defense to fall back on, the Jets have different avenues to win games if their offensive stars struggle.
The Age Dilemma
In the current era of sports, we’ve seen careers extended beyond what was previously believed to be possible. With modern medicine, as well as increased awareness of injury and how to deal with different situations, players across different sports have played at extremely high levels into their late 30s and even 40s. Turning 41 in December, the question of whether father time will catch up to Rodgers always looms in the background as the Jets attempt to plan their future around their aging star. Suffering a torn achilles on opening night one season ago, there was skepticism that Rodgers would even return to the sport after such a catastrophic injury at his advanced age. While Rodgers made a miraculous return in a relatively short time, his play on the field during the 2024-25 season has not held up to his normal standards. Fans of the Jets may wonder if this pairing with Adams may have come too late, as Rodgers’ decline becomes inevitable. Only time will tell whether this drop in play is permanent, or if Rodgers just needs to shake the rust off after a full season away from football. With that being said, the Jets at 2-5 are trying to turn around their season, and the acquisition of Adams can only be a positive for them on the offensive side of the football.