Davante Adams is still a Raider as the team looks for a trade partner willing to pay a hefty price for the star receiver.
Add in the Buffalo Bills as potential competition for the Jets before the Nov. 5 trade deadline, with The Athletic reporting they are “monitoring” the situation.
Teams that have not shown interest include the Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs.
Buffalo could certainly use a playmaker, as top receiver Khalil Shakir is recovering from an injury while quarterback Josh Allen’s numbers have plummeted without Stefon Diggs, who has departed for Houston.
There are still hurdles, though, that remain for the Bills should they truly pursue a deal, including the asking price of a second-round pick.
Adams is still owed an obscene salary for the remainder of the season, earning nearly $1 million per week.
Buffalo would need the Raiders to take nearly the entire salary for Adams, as the squad has a little more than $3 million in salary cap space, according to OverTheCap and Spotrac.
The Bills have long been considered a team in poor standing with the league’s salary cap, although they may be getting a reprieve from some of that difficulty.
Bills linebacker Von Miller is currently suspended for the next four games, meaning they will save four weeks of his $500,000 weekly salary off the salary cap.
That could be the difference maker for the Bills if they want to acquire Adams.
Still, the Raiders owe Adams $993,529 per week, meaning he’s owed nearly $12 million for the remainder of the season, something the Bills could never come close to affording.
Adams has made it clear that he wants to be a member of a team with a quarterback he trusts, and there is likely no one he trusts more than Jets signal caller Aaron Rodgers.
Ex-Patriots coach Bill Belichick said no team was going to pay a second-round pick for Adams during the season, and, surely, it’s extremely difficult to pay his full contract without the Raiders helping take that burden.
All of that points to a complicated trade negotiation with the hope he is traded sooner rather than later.
The star receiver has 209 receiving yards and one touchdown through three games this season, having missed the last two games due to a hamstring injury.