2025 NFL offseason: Best landing spots for Davante Adams, DK Metcalf, other veteran wideouts now available

The market for wide receivers has skyrocketed with less than a week to go before the official start of free agency. This week alone, the Jets released Davante Adams, the Seahawks parted ways with Tyler Lockett, the Jaguars will reportedly move on from Christian Kirk and star wideout DK Metcalf has requested a trade that Seattle will reportedly explore. 

The Seahawks will undoubtedly receive interest for Metcalf, a two-time Pro Bowler and a physical specimen at 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds. Metcalf reportedly wants his contract reworked, but that likely won’t scare off many receiver-needy teams. Metcalf also reportedly wants to play for a title-contending team, so that might limit his options and the teams that inquire about him. 

Metcalf might be the crown jewel of this group, but Adams, Kirk and Lockett are very good players who will also receive plenty of attention on the open market. Adams has enjoyed a Hall of Fame-caliber career as a six-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro. Kirk is a former 1,000-yard receiver who is still in his prime. Lockett is a crafty veteran with 661 career catches and 61 touchdown grabs under his belt. 

With free agency looming, here’s is the best landing spot for each veteran wide receiver now available on the market. 

Best landing spot: Green Bay Packers 

After playing for two other teams the past three years, Adams’ best move would be to go back to Green Bay, where he enjoyed a prolific eight-year run from 2014-21. 

On paper, an Adams-Packers reunion would be a match made in heaven. Adams, 32, surely wants to play for a contender at this stage of his career, and the Packers certainly are one after making the playoffs each of the past two years. Green Bay is in desperate need of a veteran presence at receiver, which is what Adams can provide in spades. 

Making this even more appealing for Adams is the fact that he would get a chance to play with a top-tier quarterback — Jordan Love — after he largely didn’t get to do the previous three seasons. Love and Adams already have history together dating back to Love’s first two seasons in Green Bay.  

Best landing spot: Pittsburgh Steelers 

The Steelers were reportedly close to acquiring Kirk before last year’s trade deadline, but Kirk broke his collarbone just before the deadline, prematurely ending his season after just 12 games. 

If he is healthy, it’s safe to assume that the Steelers would still be interested in acquiring the 28-year-old Kirk, who was emerging as one of the NFL’s top young receivers until injuries started to get in the way. He caught 84 passes for 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns in 2022 (his first season with the Jaguars) and had 57 catches for 787 yards and five touchdowns through the first 12 games of the 2023 season before he suffered a season-ending injury. 

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Kirk is a tough, hard-nosed player who fits the Steelers’ physical persona. He would be a good complement to George Pickens and Calvin Austin III, who played well last year while serving as Pittsburgh’s No. 2 receiver. Kirk shouldn’t be too expensive, either, which would give the Steelers the ability to add more weapons to their offense this offseason. 

Best landing spot: Buffalo Bills

We’ll keep this short and sweet. Metcalf wants to play for a contender, and the Bills need a receiver who can help them get past the Chiefs and the rest of the AFC. Similar to Adams and the Packers, Metcalf and the Bills seem almost too good to be true. Time will tell if that is ultimately the case, but if it were to come to fruition, the Bills would indeed supplant the Chiefs as AFC’s early frontrunner. 

It’s hard to fathom the possibility of Metcalf catching passes from Josh Allen, the league’s reigning MVP who is coming off the best year of his career. But if the stars do happen align, Metcalf and Allen could be a rerun of the historic partnership that Randy Moss and Tom Brady enjoyed when they became teammates in 2007. 

Best landing spot: Las Vegas Raiders 

While we have Metcalf going to a contender, we have Lockett reuniting with former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll in Las Vegas. Carroll has reportedly been a longtime fan of Lockett, so it makes perfect since for Carroll to have him on his first Raiders squad. 

Along with his consistent productivity on the field, Lockett is a respected veteran who can help bring a winning culture to a Raiders team that has played just one playoff game since their last Super Bowl appearance (in January of 2003). Lockett could serve as a valuable mentor for the Raiders’ young players. 

He’ll be 33 in September, but Lockett is still a productive player who would make life easier for whoever the Raiders have at quarterback this season. Lockett caught 49 passes last year, 79 in 2023 and pulled down 84 passes for 1,033 yards and nine touchdowns in 2022. He can still play if given the opportunity to do so.