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The New York Jets didn’t propose the framework of a trade for Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders until former head coach Robert Saleh was fired, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
“First, it was the firing of Saleh that the locker room was confused by—with the players feeling like losing him would stretch the staff thin and hurt a defense that was the strength of the team,” Breer wrote on Monday. “Second, it was going the extra mile to land Adams before the Pittsburgh Steelers game, despite the fact that the Jets didn’t have an offer on the table for him, period, before Saleh was fired.”
The Jets decided to part ways with Saleh following a 2-3 start to the season and he was replaced by interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich. After a loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 6, New York acquired Adams from the Raiders in exchange for a 2025 conditional third-round pick.
Breer noted that the Jets’ latest defeat at the hands of the New England Patriots “showed a staff that’s struggling in the aftermath of losing its leader” in Saleh.
Letting go of Saleh and adding Adams hasn’t changed New York’s current trajectory, with the team in the midst of a five-game losing streak.
The six-time Pro Bowl receiver has recorded just 84 yards in two games and hasn’t been able to find the end zone.
Meanwhile, the Jets are allowing 28.3 points per game in three contests with Ulbrich compared to giving up just 17 points per game in the first five weeks of the season under Saleh.
New York will be looking to put an end to its current losing streak in a Week 9 clash with the Houston Texans.