The New York Jets are taking phone calls for All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams, but will release him before the start of the new league year on March 12 if they cannot find a partner, per Ian Rapoport.
The Jets traded for Adams on Oct. 15 in hopes of saving the team’s season and maybe saving a few jobs. The season took a downward spiral, forcing a new regime to come in.
Head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey decided to move on from quarterback Aaron Rodgers, so it was inevitable that they would do the same with Adams.
Releasing Adams before June 1, will save the team $29.9 million in 2025. Releasing the 32-year-old would bring New York’s cap space to $44.57 million, but will charge the team with a dead cap charge of $8.3 million, according to Spotrac. That’s without releasing Rodgers, as well as any other cuts they decide to make.
Since Gang Green traded for Rodgers’ partner in crime just five months ago for a third-round pick, some compensation in return would be nice for a team that could use more draft capital. They have three picks in the top-100, five in the top-150, but they don’t have multiple seconds or thirds. It’s still unknown what the asking price will be for Adams.
The Jets will be in a better spot financially than people think, but they won’t be able to spend freely, either. According to Brian Costello of the New York Post, he doesn’t think the Jets will “go crazy” in free agency. Costello mentioned that the Jets have “a lot of holes” and expects them to spend more during the second wave of free agency.
New York needs to add a quarterback, either in the draft or by signing a one-year veteran bridge option, a wide receiver and/or a tight end, one offensive tackle (or run it back with Morgan Moses on the right side), an interior defensive lineman and two defensive backs, most likely one corner and one safety.
The Jets will have to be strategic with how they spend their cap space and hope some players will come over from other teams on a “Glenn discount.” New head coaches tend to bring in familiar faces from other organizations to make the transition smoother.
Some positions of need that have connections to Glenn from his time in Detroit are Lions cornerback Cartlon Davis, wide receiver Tim Patrick and defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike. Davis will be on the expensive side, but pairing him up with Sauce Gardner would fill their cornerback need very nicely.
