Lions Blockbuster Trade Pitch Sends 6-Time Pro Bowler to Detroit

Heavy on Lions The Detroit Lions are being discussed as a possible suiter for a six-time Pro Bowler who wants out of his current team.

News is trickling in that Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams wants out, and the Detroit Lions are being discussed as a possible suiter for Adams, pairing him with Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.

On Tuesday, October 1, a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter stated the Raiders were open to trading Adams, with Schefter writing, “ESPN Sources: Raiders have informed other teams that they would “consider” trading star wide receiver Davante Adams for a package that would include a second-round pick and additional compensation.”  That post was followed by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reporting that Adams informed the Raiders that he “would prefer to be elsewhere.”

‘No Cap Hit for the Acquiring Team to Take On Davante Adams’

In ESPN’s weekly buzz column ahead of Week 5, published on October 2, from Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler, the NFL analysts discussed Adams’ trade situation. Graziano mentioned the Detroit Lions as a possible fit for Adams.

“The Jets, Cowboys, Commanders and Lions are among potentially interested teams with enough cap space to trade for Adams now,” Graziano stated. “The Steelers, who currently have roughly $10.5 million in cap space, would probably need to wait until the deadline or find some other way of creating space.”

Graziano added, “Adams also has two years left on his contract after this one, with scheduled salaries of $35.64 million in both 2025 and 2026. But none of that money is guaranteed, so there’d be no cap hit for the acquiring team next year if it released him at the end of the season.”

Davante Adams Would Like to ‘Win a Super Bowl’

As for what it would really cost the Lions to bring on the six-time Pro Bowler, Mike Payton of A to Z Sports noted that, “From a trade standpoint, it might not be that much considering that Adams is going to be 32-years-old this season and this is going to be a cost cutting move for the Raiders.”

Payton proposed that the Lions would get Adams, and the Raiders would get a 2026 third-round and 2025 fifth-round pick from Detroit.

“This is based off a few things,” Payton stated. “The first one being the Bears trade for Keenan Allen. It sort of sets the market for what some of the older receivers are going for right now. The Bears got Allen for a 2024 fourth-round pick. Since Adams is a bit better than Allen, he’s going to draw more. Two day three picks is not a bad deal for the Raiders.”

Payton reiterated that Adams’ “2024 salary is guaranteed, but 2025 and 2026 aren’t, “so the Raiders could gain cap space by trading him. The Lions, in turn, “would wind up taking on his $16.9 million base salary this season, but then they would have to do some work to make sure they can restructure his deal going forward. He’s on the hook for $35 million in 2025 and 2026.”

So, how likely is it that Adams wants to be a Lion? NFL analyst and expert Brad Berreman of SideLion Report notes that Detroit being a Super Bowl contender could tip the scales.

“Beyond his apparent desire to play with a quarterback he knows, Adams presumably would like to go to a team that can win a Super Bowl,” Berreman noted in an October 2 feature. “If not this year, then over the next couple years (the Jets and Saints are certainly iffy on that front).”