The situation surrounding Davante Adams’ trade from the Green Bay Packers to the Las Vegas Raiders back in March cleared up a bit on Thursday.
Adams made his first public remarks during a Q&A with reporters at the site of the Raidres’ minicamp in Henderson. In said remarks, the All-Pro wide receiver confirmed that Green Bay did in fact offer him more than the Raiders ahead of said blockbuster.
“You guys have heard, ‘Green Bay offered this (much money),’ which was higher (than the Raiders offer) and all of that. And, yeah, I’ll say it: It was true. But, like I said, there’s much more that goes into it. And family was a big part of it for me, so being geographically here makes it a lot easier for me to stay connected to my family year round. This isn’t Year 2 or I’m not necessarily trying to fight for a job or anything like that to where you gotta do what you gotta do.”
Davante Adams on contract offers, via Tashan Reed of The Athletic
Adams went on to note that he had a choice to make. For him, the choice was to “come here and raise my family on the West Coast.”
Adams, ultimately signed a contract with the Raiders that made him the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL to help push the trade through the finish line.
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Davante Adams contract situation, relationship with Aaron Rodgers and more
There’s not necessarily a real number floating around as it relates to what the Packers offered Adams. But it seems that one of the game’s best wide receivers simply wanted a change of scenery. He wanted to be closer to his native Redwood City.
In reality, it wasn’t as much about Adams not feeling appreciated by the Packers after drawn-out extension talks. It wasn’t as much about a rift with the organization. Adams’ relationship with Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers also didn’t play a role in the decision-making process.
With that said, Rodgers’ questionable future with the Packers did indeed play a role in Adams’ decision to head to Sin City.
“We talked throughout the whole process. We had talks about his future and what he thinks his duration in Green Bay or just football in general would look like. That played into my decision as well because, where I’m at in my career … I got aspirations of doing really, really big things and being remembered. It wasn’t really a point in my career that I was willing to sacrifice Aaron not being there after a year or two. o, my decision was to be here and he respected that.”
Davante adams on talks with aaron rodgers
- Davante Adams contract: 5 years, $140 million; $65.67 in guarantees
Sure the finances were important as you can see above. But Rodgers’ questionable future in Green Bay did seem to play a role. Just recently, the two-time reigning NFL MVP said that he continually thinks about retirement.
Adams is now in Vegas playing with his college quarterback at Fresno State, Derek Carr. The signal caller just recently signed a massive extension with the Raiders, cementing his status as the long-term solution under center. This type of continuity and his relationship with Carr was certainly a factor in Adams’ decision-making process.