Which team needs him the most?

Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams hasn’t had a pleasant experience since leaving the Green Bay Packers. Although he accumulated many individual accolades, the team’s offensive ineptitude led to great frustration and a lack of success.

Former Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was a big reason why Adams chose Las Vegas as his desired destination, but the Raiders made a quarterback change before Adams could even rekindle chemistry with his former college teammate.

The Raiders entered the 2024 season with an underwhelming quarterback room that featured veteran quarterback Gardner Minshew and sophomore quarterback Aiden O’Connell. So far, the results are in line with expectations. Through four games, the Raiders’ offense ranks 24th in yards.

According to NFL insider Josina Anderson, Adams formally requested a trade from the Raiders on Tuesday, and one NFC team has already expressed interest in acquiring Adams.

The team would not be willing to offer a second-round draft pick and would require a contract restructure to comply with the league salary cap.

There has been a lot of trade speculation surrounding Adams as his Las Vegas career comes to an end, but most of the teams mentioned as ideal destinations don’t have enough cash to acquire Adams.

Two other teams reportedly told Anderson that Adams’ salary would play a large role in a potential deal.

Adams is in the third year of his five-year, $140 million contract with the Raiders through 2022. His base salary for 2025 and 2026 is $35.6 million, but it is not guaranteed and was added only to provide flexibility for restructuring and increased average annual value. Since the final two years of his contract are not practical, Adams is effectively in the final year of his current deal.

Adams currently has the Raiders’ salary cap hit at $25.3 million, but any team that acquires the All-Pro winger will only be responsible for paying a prorated portion of his $16.89 million base salary. Because Adams played four games for the Raiders, his salary cap hit for the 2024 season will be around $13.5 million.

The team acquiring Adams will likely sign him to an extension or restructure to spread out his significant salary cap hit over the next two years. It would also allow teams to lower the salary cap for the 2024 season.

Based on Anderson’s reports, some teams could be ruled out as interested parties.

Since the interested team that interviewed Anderson would require a restructuring to acquire Adams, it is likely that without a restructuring, the team would not be able to fit Adams’ salary under the current salary cap.

Acquiring Adams is completely unrealistic for the four NFC teams that have less than $5 million in salary cap space: the Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints and New York Giants.

Five of the remaining 12 NFC teams have more than $20 million in salary cap space and would not have to restructure Adams to achieve the maximum salary cap this season: the San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals.

The Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings all have less than $11 million in salary cap space and don’t necessarily need a highly paid winger on their roster. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers certainly don’t need an expensive winger either, so they can be crossed off the list as well.

Only three NFC teams remain: the Philadelphia Eagles with $11.4 million in salary cap space, the Seattle Seahawks with $12.1 million in salary cap space, and the Green Bay Packers with $14.2 million in salary cap space.

Green Bay will be able to acquire Adams since it has been over two years since he was traded and the Packers could certainly use his services. Although wide receiver Jayden Reed emerged as a dynamic threat, the Packers were unable to designate a clear No. 2 winger behind him.

During an appearance on “The Rush” podcast, Adams suggested he wouldn’t mind playing with Packers quarterback Jordan Love.

“In the time I was (in Green Bay), I didn’t necessarily see enough to say for sure that this was what I was supposed to do,” Adams said of his decision to leave the Packers. “But in hindsight, like we talked about, that kid is a f***ing competitor, man. I’m very happy for him. I haven’t had a chance to really sit down and talk to him, but at some point I want to tell him, “I definitely don’t regret switching (teams), but I’m very proud of what you’ve done, if I can somehow attract you here (to Las Vegas) . ) and drag you along like that, that would be cool too. Of course, we saw what he did at the end of the year. I don’t regret what I did, but at the same time, you definitely look at it and think, “damn, that kid’s doing pretty well right now.” “”

The Eagles may also be interested, especially with wingers AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith sidelined with injuries.