After a brief and uneventful half-season with the New York Jets, star wide receiver Davante Adams became a free agent this offseason. The three-time All-Pro, who was traded to New York from the Las Vegas Raiders in mid-October last season, was released by the team on Mar. 4.
It, however, didn’t take Adams long to find a new home, signing a two-year, $44 million contract with the Los Angeles Rams. But why did the Jets decide to part ways with one of the NFL’s most decorated receivers?
Jets Released Davante Adams To Avoid a Potential $38 Million Cap Hit
The Jets tried to shake things up during the 2024 NFL season when they traded for Adams, but the move didn’t pan out. It’s not that Adams put up bad numbers — he had 67 receptions for 854 yards and seven touchdowns with New York — but after he was traded, it didn’t translate to wins, and the Jets’ season unraveled.
In 2025, with a new head coach in place and veterans like Aaron Rodgers also departing, the Jets sought to rebuild. That meant parting ways with Adams, who was set to carry a massive $38 million cap hit for the upcoming season. Keeping him at that number was never realistic, and no team was willing to take on the contract in a trade.
They were eventually proved right when Los Angeles signed Adams to a much smaller two-year, $44 million deal, an average of $22 million annually. It is $16 million less than he would have earned under his Jets contract.
The Rams’ offer includes $26 million in guaranteed money with $12 million as a signing bonus. He will earn a base salary of $8 million in 2025 while carrying a cap hit of $12 million and a dead cap value of $26 million for the Rams. In 2026, Adams’ base salary is $18 million.
Adams also has $1 million in incentives available each year. Here’s a breakdown of his targets, per Sportrac:
Pro Bowl: $250,000
60% Regular Season Snaps + Divisional Rd Win: $250,000
60% Regular Season + Conf. Champ Win: $250,000
60% Regular Season + Super Bowl Win: $250,000
So far, Adams is proving his worth in Los Angeles. Through five games, he has hauled in 22 receptions for 357 yards and three touchdowns, showing he still has plenty left in the tank.
Adams’ Fantasy Football Outlook for Week 6
Here’s what PFSN’s Kyle Soppe wrote about the Rams star’s fantasy outlook for Week 6:
What age curve? Davante Adams has earned nine end zone targets this season and, in three of the past four games, has reached 130 air yards.
The future Hall of Famer is clearly in the circle of trust with Matthew Stafford and has plenty of juice left. He’s winning the same way he did during his prime in Green Bay and I see no reason to think that changes in the short term.
He’s picked up 24+ yards on a catch in all five games this season, and a beat-up Ravens defense doesn’t exactly profile as the type to slow down this momentum. Puka Nacaua’s target share isn’t going anywhere, but there are enough passes in Los Angeles for Adams to continue to see 8-10 targets weekly, and that’s more than enough to stabilize strong WR2 value in all formats.
Check out the free PFSN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
Adams is projected to score 16.8 fantasy points in PPR formats. We project Adams to have six receptions for 75 yards and 0.6 touchdowns.
