Earlier this month, most Rams fans reacted with delight to the news that their favorite team would possibly be trading for Eagles receiver A.J. Brown. They also reacted with disbelief (to put it mildly) that the Rams would have then traded receiver Davante Adams.
On Monday, Rams coach Sean McVay confirmed to reporters that a possible Adams trade was on the table.
“I’ve talked with Davante about that, and if we felt like it was best for our team, we would’ve done that,” McVay said.
Acquiring Brown would have definitely made trading Adams “best for our team.”
The Rams ultimately didn’t trade for Brown because, as we’ve heard, something in the medical records caused them to tap out. That made it unnecessary to trade Adams.
With Puka Nacua in line for an extension (the market has moved to $42.15 million per year, thanks to the new Jaxon Smith-Njigba deal), the Rams wouldn’t have paid him and Brown ($29 million for 2026) and Adams ($24 million for 2026).
The matter was settled before Adams earned a $6 million roster bonus on March 15. But McVay has now made it clear that Adams was on notice of the possibility that, despite leading the league in touchdown receptions in 2025, he would have been elsewhere again in 2026.
