By Ross Jackson
The trade rumors are picking up steam around Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams
The New Orleans Saints look to be directly at the center of speculation. Not just because fans want the team to pursue the three-time All-Pro wideout, but also because Adams himself has the Saints in his sights as a preferred landing spot.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Adams has two preferred trade destinations–the Saints and the New York Jets. While it does not mean that he will certainly end up with one of those teams, the Saints inclusion is noteworthy.
Adams’s interest in the Jets is no surprise. The team’s starting quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, was Adams’s teammate for eight years with the Green Bay Packers. Both players have since moved on but could be reunited by this trade, similar to the impetus for what likely keeps the Saints high on Adams’s list as well.
As the Packers’ split with Rodgers was imminent, Adams was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders and reunited with his collegiate quarterback Derek Carr, now of course the quarterback in New Orleans. That connection is the typical reason many would highlight when it comes to the Saints being on the receiver’s wishlist. However, the team’s wide receivers coach Keith Williams has a very tight relationship with Adams as his personal receiver coach for many years. Williams was also the wide receivers coach at Fresno State, where Adams and Carr played their college ball.
There is enough connective tissue, and apparently interest, between the Saints and Adams. Whether or not a trade actually happens will come down to compensation, both in reference to trade capital and salary cap space. But if those things can be worked out, the Saints and Raiders have had these kinds of conversations before. With that foundation, the Saints could pick up where they left off trying to move for wide receiver Hunter Renfrow at last year’s trade deadline in an attempt to bring Adams to one of his preferred landing spots.
