By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer
The Las Vegas Raiders are making a blockbuster move to keep up in the AFC West, acquiring All-Pro receiver Davante Adams from the Green Bay Packers.
According to multiple media reports, the Raiders are sending the Packers their first-round pick (No. 22 overall) and second-round pick (No. 53) in this year’s draft. That gives the Packers four picks in the top 60; they also own picks Nos. 28 and 59.
NFL Network reported that Adams has agreed to a new five-year deal with the Raiders that will pay him $141.25 million in the richest deal ever for a wide receiver. The trade reunites Adams with his college quarterback, Derek Carr.
This was an aggressive move by the Raiders’ new regime led by Coach Josh McDaniels and General Manager Dave Ziegler and the latest in an AFC West arms race as teams try to catch Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Denver traded for quarterback Russell Wilson and the Chargers acquired edge rusher Khalil Mack.
Now the Raiders are trying to keep pace and build on a 10-win season that sent them to the playoffs for just the second time in the past 19 seasons.
Las Vegas potentially has one of the league’s most dynamic offenses with Carr having his best set of playmakers with Adams teaming with Pro Bowl slot receiver Hunter Renfrow, star tight end Darren Waller and running back Josh Jacobs.
Carr has a strong history with Adams, playing two seasons together in college at Fresno State. In their final year together in 2013, Adams had 131 catches for 1,719 yards and 24 touchdowns.
Adams is the most accomplished wideout Carr will have had in his eight-year career. Carr has played with talented receivers in previous years, but Amari Cooper was still early in his career while Michael Crabtree’s best days were behind him. Both fell out of favor with Carr. Then there was Antonio Brown, whose self-imposed implosion got him released before ever appearing in a regular-season game. Henry Ruggs III was starting to come into his own last season before he was involved in a high-speed car crash that killed a 23-year-old woman in Las Vegas; Ruggs was cut.
Adams reportedly bought a house in Las Vegas recently and Carr tweeted after reports of the deal became public, “Welcome home.”
Now the next big move for the Raiders will likely be extending Carr’s contract. He is playing on the final year of a five-year, $125 million deal and is in line for a lucrative extension now that the Raiders appear to be going all-in.
Adams has been one of the most productive receivers in the NFL in recent years. His 432 catches, 5,310 yards receiving and 47 touchdown receptions lead the NFL over the past four seasons.
He had 123 catches for 1,553 yards and 11 TDs last season when he made his second straight All-Pro team.
This trade comes less than two weeks after the Packers placed the franchise tag on Adams and two days after the Packers announced that two-time reigning MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers had signed a contract extension.
The franchise tag meant Adams would have been due to receive just over $20 million for the 2022 season if he and the Packers didn’t work out an extension before July 15. Adams, who has said he wants to be the game’s highest-paid receiver, was asked late in the season about the prospect of getting the franchise tag.
“I’m not sure how to answer that safely right now,” Adams said then. “So, we’ll just cross that bridge when we get to it. I’ll just say that. I like to be professional on here.”
The 29-year-old Adams is the only player in NFL history to have at least 110 catches, 1,350 yards receiving and 11 touchdown receptions in three separate seasons.
Adams has joined Marvin Harrison and Larry Fitzgerald as the only players to have 600 catches, 8,000 yards receiving and 70 touchdown receptions over their first eight seasons.
The Packers are free from that $20.14 million franchise tag charge on their salary cap, but Adams’ departure leaves a major hole in Green Bay’s offense. The Packers have their MVP quarterback but must figure out who is going to catch Rodgers’ passes.
The Packers return veteran Randall Cobb but aren’t certain to bring back any of their other proven wideouts.
Allen Lazard is an unrestricted free agent who received a second-round tender this week. Marquez Valdes-Scantling, the team’s top deep threat, is an unrestricted free agent. Tight end Robert Tonyan also is an unrestricted free agent.
Adams’ trade ends the most successful quarterback-receiver partnership in Packers’ history. Rodgers and Adams own the Packers’ record for most career touchdowns by a quarterback-receiver combination with 68, breaking Rodgers and Jordy Nelson’s previous mark of 65.
NOTES
The report of the trade came after a busy day for the Raiders as they finalized free agent deals with edge rusher Chandler Jones, defensive tackle Bilal Nichols, cornerback Anthony Averett, running back Brandon Bolden, fullback Jakob Johnson, wide receiver Mack Hollins, cornerback Darius Phillips and offensive lineman Alex Bars. … Las Vegas also previously acquired cornerback Rock Ya-Sin in a trade from Indianapolis for defensive end Yannick Ngakoue.
AP Sports Writer Steve Megargee contributed to this report.