The Las Vegas Raiders ramped up the AFC West arms race another notch late on Thursday by trading for the best WR in the NFL - Green Bay Packers star Davante Adams.
The Raiders handed over first and second-round picks in the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft (numbers 22 and 53 overall) to reunite Adams with his former college team-mate at Fresno State, quarterback Derek Carr.
AFC West arms race
It’s a move which just adds to a terrific cast of stars lining up in the AFC West when the 2022 season finally begins in September. Kansas City remains the class of the division, but everybody else is gearing up to try to change that:
- The Denver Broncos traded for Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson in a huge deal, and also spirited away DE Randy Gregory from under the noses of the Dallas Cowboys.
- The Los Angeles Chargers traded for Chicago’s defensive star Khalil Mack and signed the best CB on the free-agent market in former Patriot J.C. Jackson.
- The Raiders acquired star Arizona pass rusher Chandler Jones, and now they raise the stakes again with the acquisition of Adams.
Why did Green Bay trade Davante?
For Green Bay, while this might not be the ideal scenario, it appears the team had little other option with Adams unlikely to agree to a long-term deal in Wisconsin.
A week ago Adams had the franchise tag placed on him after Aaron Rodgers’ own contract extension allowed Green Bay to make that move and keep Adams off the open market.
Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Rodgers though knew during his contract negotiations with Green Bay that Adams “would never play for the Packers again” as “the situation was too far gone”.
How has this trade affected the Super Bowl odds?
While the odds of a Raiders Super Bowl win in February 2023 have pretty much halved (they are now 33/1 with Sky Bet), this whole thing might impact the Packers more.
Super Bowl 57 Outright winner odds (via Sky Bet)
- 13/2 - Buffalo Bills
- 7/1 - Kansas City Chiefs
- 10/1 - LA Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- 11/1 - Denver Broncos
- 12/1 - Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers
- 14/1 - Dallas Cowboys
- 18/1 - LA Chargers
- 20/1 - Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals
Odds correct at 0730 (18/03/22)
Right now Green Bay has hardly any receiving talent of note under contract, and Sky Bet now has the Packers at 12/1 to win the big game in Glendale early next year. They had consistently been trading in single digits on the back of Rodgers deciding to stay.
We now of course expect the Packers to use some of that newly-acquired draft capital and cap space to acquire fresh talent at the receiver position. Let the games continue!