New York Atlas defenseman Gavin Adler is the best player available this offseason. Inside Lacrosse’s Kevin Brown reported on Friday that four teams “are all strongly in the running” for Adler: the Utah Archers, Denver Outlaws, California Redwoods and Philadelphia Waterdogs. The Atlas, meanwhile, are looking to bring their star defenseman back.
Adler had a career year in 2025, winning the U.S. Bank Championship and the Dave Pietramala Defensive Player of the Year Award. The 26-year-old’s rookie contract is expiring, making him the most sought-after player this offseason. Those four teams, along with the Atlas, could greatly benefit from signing Adler for 2026.
Which club will be most appealing for the 2023 No. 1 pick, and what would each team look like with him on their roster? Here are his five options analyzed and sorted from his most to least likely destinations:
New York Atlas
Is 2025 the beginning or the end of the Atlas dynasty? That could be determined by the decision Adler makes.
Why Adler would stay
The reigning champs are as star-studded a roster as there’s been in the PLL. The sextet of Adler, Liam Entenmann, Danny Logan, Trevor Baptiste, Jeff Teat and Connor Shellenberger are all among the elite tier of players at their respective positions.
New York head coach and general manager Mike Pressler re-signed Baptiste and Logan last March and extended Teat in April. Adler, Entenmann and Shellenberger have been on rookie contracts. Is it possible to retain all six of those stars? Entenmann and Shellenberger will demand big deals next offseason when their rookie deals run out.
Adler just won a championship with the Atlas. He had tremendous team and individual success and could be part of a young core that is one of the most talented in professional lacrosse history. He’s the ultimate competitor, and the Atlas are the team where he’s most likely to keep winning. Adler is a winner, and leaving a team he won a championship with three months ago would not be an easy decision to make.
What the Atlas would look like without Adler
Losing Adler would change the shape of the New York defense in 2026. He is the Michael Sowers stopper, the first-class cover defender who can take some of the best players in the world out of a game.
The Atlas won’t replace Adler this offseason. 26-year-old Defensive Players of the Year hardly grow on trees. They can address the position in other ways, but he’s one of one.
Philadelphia Waterdogs
Adler joining the Waterdogs might be the craziest possible outcome.
Why Adler would sign with Philly
Philadelphia could present the perfect balance for Adler with both available cap space and the chance to contend immediately and into the future.
The Dogs don’t have too many stars on massive deals into the future. Sowers is one on offense. The club’s gameday defense regularly featured five players in their first or second years – the most in the league – after head coach Bill Tierney moved on from a handful of veterans ahead of 2025.
Philly could outbid New York while still boasting the requisite talent to fight for a title in 2026 and beyond.
What the Waterdogs would look like with Adler
Adler would elevate the Philadelphia defense in a major way. The Waterdogs allowed 12.7 scores against per game in 2025, ranking sixth in the league. By signing Adler, they could turn the Sowers stopper into the Shellenberger stopper.
With Adler, Tierney’s defense would look like one of the better units in the league. Kenny Brower can battle bruisers like Brennan O’Neill. Jimmy Freehill, Ben Wayer and Marcus Hudgins provide length and scoring in the middle of the field. Dylan Hess is a monster short-stick defensive midfielder. Adler would take on the responsibility of guarding opposing teams’ best attackmen while also allowing the rest of the Dogs’ defenders to bump down a respective matchup.
The Cornell product heading to Philly wouldn’t just bring the Waterdogs defense to another level. It would also do major damage to the Dogs’ top competition in the East. Without Adler to slow down Sowers, the Atlas defense would be hard-pressed to enter 2026 with the guys to defend Philly’s three-headed monster at attack.
Bottom line: If the Waterdogs sign Adler, they should probably be the new favorites to come out of the East in 2026.
Utah Archers
Could the club a year removed from going back-to-back make a league-altering move to return to the top in 2026?
Why Adler would sign with Utah
The Archers should be in similar territory to the Waterdogs with the possibility of contending for a championship in 2026 and the cash to entice Adler out of New York. This is a team that has been to the mountaintop recently and could be a piece or two away from reclaiming its place atop the league.
There’s also the Tony Resch appeal. Resch is on the all-time Mount Rushmore of defensive lacrosse minds. He’s molded some of the sport’s absolute best, including Hall of Famers Brian Spallina, Michael Ehrhardt, Nicky Polanco and Brian Dougherty.
Adler is obsessed with preparation. He’s a film junkie. Pairing him with Resch, Utah’s defensive coordinator, would be an unfair combination of defensive intellect and raw ability.
What the Archers would look like with Adler
2025 proved that Utah has to get younger. The club was shredded by injuries over the summer, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Head coach and general manager Chris Bates knows there’s talent on the team. But that’s paired with a recognition that he has to throw down the gauntlet to find the right path forward for his aging roster.
The Archers have been the most aggressive team with regard to extending players a year before their deal is up. Players who’ve signed extensions a season before their contract expired over the two years include Tom Schreiber, Connor Fields, Tre Leclaire, Piper Bond, Connor Maher, Mike Sisselberger and Brett Dobson. Mason Woodward and Beau Pederson are likely up next this offseason.
Extending players early has allowed Utah to stay ahead of the cap and has prevented it from losing talented, homegrown players. It also affords them cap flexibility to chase after Adler this offseason.
Veteran defenders Hossack and Warren Jeffrey’s statuses are up in the air for 2026. Utah has young defensive pieces in Woodward and Brendan Lavelle, along with maybe the best SSDM stable in the league with Pederson, Bond and Maher.
Adding Adler to that young core, which is backstopped by Dobson, would set the Archers up to be the defense to beat for the next five years. It would also betray the team’s preference for bigger, lengthier defenders. From Hossack and Jeffrey to Woodward, Jared Conners and Matt McMahon, the Archers’ mainstay long poles have all been 6-foot-2 or (often much) taller.
Adler is worth the exception. He plays bigger than his 5-foot-8 frame and is a master of closing off passing lanes. Whether Hossack and Jeffrey are back or not, Adler would ensure the Archers’ defense is a major strength for 2026 and beyond.
California Redwoods
Is general manager Joe Spallina about to make his first splashy acquisition?
Why Adler would sign with California
Dollar dollar bills. The Woods are the most likely team to jack up the price for Adler. They’re a team chock-full of rookie contracts. The offense is being built around rookies Chris Kavanagh and Andrew McAdorey, while veterans Ryder Garnsey and Dylan Molloy are on expiring deals.
TD Ierlan is the only star on a second contract, leaving the Woods with cap space to play with. They were in the Jared Bernhardt sweepstakes at the beginning of the 2025 season and should be able to bid as high as any other club for Adler’s services.
California made the Western Conference finals in 2025. But the team was still clearly a step below the Denver Outlaws in the West. Adler would help them close the gap, but the team’s biggest holes would still need addressing for it to win a title in 2026. The money is what could pull Adler to California.
What the Redwoods would look like with Adler
Adler would give the Woods a blue-chip talent to build around defensively. He would unquestionably elevate a Woods defense that was often outclassed in matchups against the best attackmen.
The combination of Cole Kastner and Chris Fake was a good young duo at close in 2025. Signing Adler could mean California loses out on re-signing Fake. Adler would be an upgrade, but an expensive one.
Is Adler the player California needs most, or merely the best available this offseason? The Woods have question marks at goalie, long-stick midfield and around Kavanagh and McAdorey on offense. Adler would bring the Redwoods closer to winning a title, but would it cost them the opportunity to upgrade the rest of the roster?
Denver Outlaws
Could Denver really afford Adler given its superstar contracts and the ones due next offseason?
Why Adler would sign with Denver
If the Outlaws can offer more than New York, they might have an even greater chance of winning in 2026 and beyond.
The issue is the Outlaws have even more superstars than the Atlas. They just won the biggest sweepstakes in league history when they signed Bernhardt. Can they really do it again?
Even if Denver can lure Adler out West for 2026 with a higher offer and the prospect of starting a dynasty, is joining the Outlaws the best long-term, sustainable option for the 2025 DPOY?
What Denver would look like with Adler
The best team in lacrosse. Pairing Adler with JT Giles-Harris would give the Outlaws the two best young close defenders in the game, making the Denver defense as formidable as its offense. Adler could own matchups against quicker players and free Giles-Harris up to bruise with the big boys.
Head coach and general manager Tim Soudan has been a big-game hunter over the last year, trading for Pat Kavanagh and signing Bernhardt to further build around O’Neill. Could he pull off another heist?
Adler signing with Denver would make the Outlaws the favorite to win it all in 2026. It would meaningfully damage New York’s chance of a repeat and bolster Denver’s aging close defense.
Should he sign elsewhere, the Outlaws would need to get younger defensively. Giles-Harris (27 years old) is a building block at close, but Mike Manley (37) and Jesse Bernhardt (35) are two of the oldest players in the league. Fake is a name to watch for the Outlaws. Otherwise, the draft is probably where Denver should turn.
