The Raiders shopped the contract of receiver Davante Adams for two weeks. On Tuesday, the Jets finalized a deal that sends him from the 2-4 Raiders to the 2-4 Jets.

During the quarterly league meetings in Atlanta, owner Mark Davis discussed the decision to leave Adams 37 games into his tenure with the team.

“It’s part of this life in football,” Davis told TheAthletic.com. “Players come and go. If things don’t work out, they don’t work. (GM) Tom Telesco has done well today to ensure that we can move forward with as little distraction as possible in the future.”

The word “distraction” underlines the reality that the recent report about the Raiders potentially retaining Adams through the end of the year was nothing more than an attempt to squeeze the best possible trade terms out of his new team.

While Davis certainly wasn’t thrilled with the prospect of paying Adams $983,333 per week not to play, Davis said he let Telesco and coach Antonio Pierce handle the situation.

“I leave these decisions up to the general manager and head coach,” Davis said. “They make the football decisions. I consult with them and may often play devil’s advocate, but they make the decisions and they make the final decision.

Ultimately, the Raiders didn’t pick up any of Adams’ remaining salary. That certainly kept them from getting the second-round pick they craved for Adams — a second-round pick they’ll only get if he becomes a first- or second-team All-Pro.

Considering he has already missed three games this year, he will need huge numbers in the final eleven games to make the All-Pro team. He has 18 catches for 209 yards and one touchdown so far in 2024. That puts him tied for 76th in the league in receptions. He ranks 70th in receiving yards.

Ultimately, the Raiders surrendered a first-round pick and a second-round pick for Adams, while only getting a third in return. They also paid him more than $55 million for his 37 matches in Las Vegas.

Along the way, they didn’t make the playoffs once, compiling a 16–24 record during Adams’ tenure with the team.

Yet today’s trade counts as lemonade and/or chicken salad. They would continue paying him $983,333 per week for 12 weeks, and they would have suspended him before the start of the 2025 league year, when his massive $35.64 million salary would have hit the books.