Rumors about the Rams attempting to trade Davante Adams this offseason were not clickbait or smoke screens: Head coach Sean McVay confirmed that the team has looked into it and that nothing came of those talks. Well, that’s all well and good but what does it actually say about how L.A. feels about their $28 million receiver right now?
The most logical answer is that nobody thinks that Adams is worth that much money anymore, including the Rams.
McVay told the media on Monday that the Rams considered adding another receiver, probably A.J. Brown, and that it would mean parting with Adams after one season. But without another notable receiver addition, obviously Adams has remained on the roster for now.
“We have discussions all the time. I wouldn’t say discussed — we really talked about some different avenues of onboarding other players and how it might affect Davante,” McVay said. “I’ve talked with Davante about that, and if we felt like it was best for our team, we would’ve done that. But we didn’t think it was best for our team. So, excited about being able to move forward with him.”
From how McVay tells it, he wanted to let Adams know that in case he had seen rumors about the team replacing him, that essentially those stories were true but the talks “didn’t get too far”.
Same as he did for Puka Nacua on Monday, McVay reiterated that he loved a Rams receiver “as a human being”.
“But what I also have a responsibility to do is [make] decisions that are best for our football team. And the best part is, you get to have another year with a guy you really love as a human, and then it’s also what you also think is best for the football team.“
Okay. Does he still love Davante Adams as a wide receiver though?
Although he led the league in touchdown catches, Adams struggled in several areas last season, including injuries and drops, and the Rams are thinking about how they can maximize what could be Matthew Stafford’s final season in 2026. That’s where a possible trade for Brown comes up, but there’s nothing expected to happen there until after June 1st, when the Eagles will see it as financially possible to trade Brown.
At that point if the Rams do acquire Brown, then Adams is almost certainly out; his $18 million base salary has $6 million guaranteed. But not all of it.
The Rams took a risk in signing Adams going into his 33rd year of life. Adams will turn 34 in December.
If this is not his last season in the NFL, it could be Adams’ last year with the Rams. Just because the team couldn’t get far with trade talks with other teams that didn’t want to pay the price, it doesn’t mean that the Rams have settled on his value in the offense either.
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