It has been an eventful calendar week in the AFC East. After squaring off on Monday Night Football, both the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills traded for wide receivers on Tuesday morning. The Jets acquired Davante Adams from the lowly Raiders, then Buffalo subsequently acquired Amari Cooper from the even more lowly Browns. Both players had been featured in trade rumours, but Adams was particularly, and publicly disgruntled in Las Vegas.
The timing of these trades is nothing short of fascinating. ESPN‘s Adam Schefter announced that the Jets were trading for Adams just after 10:00 AM on Tuesday. Then, almost exactly four hours later, Dianna Russini of The Athletic broke the news of Cooper to Buffalo. It took the Bills’ front office just only hours to respond to their division rival, retaliating with a weapon of a similar calibre.
Both trades were predicated upon the Monday Night Football matchup. The Bills won the game, but not convincingly. Had it not been for a pair of missed field goals, the Jets might have won this game. Then both teams would be sitting at .500, atop the division. Instead, the Bills win puts them 2 games ahead of the Jets in the divisional standings.
Who’s ahead?
What became evident in this game was that both the Jets and Bills needed to make upgrades, if either has serious interest in contending for a championship. Of course, the safest way to make a championship push starts with capturing the division; with the way the Dolphins and Patriots are unraveling this season, it seems the only question for 1st place Buffalo is the new look Jets, and whether they can go on a run.
So, could the Jets be considered the best team in the division, after adding Davante Adams? Adams, revered as one of the best receivers of the last half decade, played with Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay. There, the two developed an incredibly impressive connection. Despite the hole that they are now in, standings-wise, Adams will almost surely make the Jets offense stronger, perhaps even twofold. His presence changes how opposing teams will try to defend. The Jets skill-position players should look better because of him.
Buffalo would protest any notion that the Jets are better, and rightfully so: not just because Cooper is a star player and will make that offence much more dangerous, but because of how they are set up. Despite a couple of bad losses to the Ravens and Texans, the Bills have played gritty football so far. Neither the offense nor defense has been particularly impressive, but head coach Mcdermott and company have shown they can win close, physical games, including Monday night.
Amari Cooper is a polished, experienced player that can make big time plays in the playoffs. Although, considering the wins they’ve squeaked out, the Bills are set up nicely to take the division, with or without a new wideout.
Regardless of how the 2024 season plays out, Adams and Cooper are surely thrilled for having been moved. Adams is reunited with his pal Rodgers, and has escaped one of the sadder quarterback competitions in the NFL in Vegas, between Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell. Cooper, who is averaging just 50 receiving yards per game this season, is going from one of the statistically worst quarterbacks in the NFL, to one of the best, in Josh Allen.
Cooper and Adams, both in their early 30s, have a real opportunity to reignite their careers. The next meeting between Buffalo and New York is one to mark on the calendar.
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