NFL insider's diary on Davante Adams trade sweepstakes: Why Raiders All-Pro could make a U-turn, and where Jets stand on a move

With the NFL trade deadline just around the corner, the rumor mill is heating up. And the player mentioned most as possibly being on the move is Las Vegas Raiders receiver Davante Adams. As reported last week, the franchise is fielding offers for the All-Pro wideout, who reportedly said he prefers to be traded out of Vegas. Here is the latest.

Last week, in an article on potential suitors for Adams, I mentioned four teams who were working to acquire the wideout or intended to do as much. They included the New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers. In the days that followed, Adam Schefter of ESPN confirmed all four teams are in the hunt to acquire Adams.

Davante Adams trade sweepstakes: Where contenders for Raiders All-Pro stand

Right now, the rumor in league circles is that the Jets are the most aggressive of those four teams, and insiders believe a trade for Adams could happen as early as next week. The Jets need another top-caliber receiver to pair with Garrett Wilson, the team’s 2022 first-round pick. And of course, Adams would once again be matched with his former quarterback and friend Aaron Rodgers who, as I reported last week, has been in contact regularly with the receiver in the hopes of recruiting him to New York.

For the Jets, it’s been a hellacious week. Fourth-year coach Robert Saleh was fired Tuesday morning after the team returned from a beatdown handed to them by the Minnesota Vikings in London. Then interim coach Jeff Ulbrich stripped offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett - a favorite of Aaron Rodgers - who was heavily criticized from the get-go this season, of his play-calling duties.

I’m told by people close to Adams that the firing of Saleh and the demotion of Hackett is having no negative effect on his desire to play in New York with the Jets.

Yet there could be a fly in the ointment, and the fly has a name: Aidan O’Connell.

Several sources close to the situation told me if the Raiders can turn the corner with O’Connell under center, Adams may lobby to stay in Las Vegas. The second-year passer is slated to start this weekend when the Steelers travel to Vegas for a date with the Raiders.

Though that may raise some eyebrows, it shouldn’t. Going back to last season, I reported the fondness Adams had for O’Connell, then a rookie fourth-round pick out of Purdue, referring to the quarterback as “my dawg.” As I mentioned last November, teammates are impressed with O’Connell’s work ethic, toughness and confidence.

Could Adams halt a possible trade out of Vegas if he builds a rapport with O’Connell? Yes.

Again, as I previously reported, owner Mark Davis is fond of Adams as a player and as a person and has confided in the receiver on multiple occasions. It’s totally realistic that Adams would have the ear of Davis and request the owner hold off on a trade if he is able to turn things around with O’Connell at the helm.

The NFL trade deadline is 4 p.m. ET on November 5.