LAS VEGAS — When the Las Vegas Raiders acquired Davante Adams in a blockbuster trade with the Green Bay Packers last offseason, the idea was rather simple. Adams would join his former Fresno State teammate, quarterback Derek Carr, in returning the Raiders back to league-wide relevance. It never happened.
“This man gave everything he had. The reason I’m a Raider. One of the most disciplined and loving people I know. Got my bruddas back through whatever,” Adams wrote on social media back in late December.
This post came as Vegas opted to bench Carr late in the 2022 season to avoid paying out injury guarantees on his contract. Within a couple months, the longtime Raiders quarterback was released and replaced by a veteran stopgap option in Jimmy Garoppolo. At best, this was seen as a lateral move.
Fast forward another couple months, and it’s clear that Adams is not happy about the current trajectory of his Raiders team after an ugly 6-11 showing this past season.
“(The front office) think this is the best bet for us right now to put us in a position to be urgent. We don’t see eye-to-eye on what we think is best for us right now,” Davante Adams said recently.
Coming off yet another banner individual season in which he recorded 100 receptions for 1,516 yards and 14 touchdowns, Adams is not getting any younger. He’ll be entering his Age-31 season. The six-time Pro Bowl receiver is also under contract long term after signing a massive extension with Vegas to facilitate the trade from Green Bay last March.
- Davante Adams contract: 5 years, $140 million w/ $65.67 million in guarantees
After the Raiders opted to move off Carr and before they signed Garoppolo, Adams made it clear that he wanted input in the quarterback decision. Whether that ended up happening remains to be seen. But based on Adams’ comments about the Raiders’ front office, this seems rather unlikely.
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NFL teams should at least call the Raiders about Davante Adams
There are a lot of moving parts to this. First off, the Raiders can’t be seen as contenders in an AFC West that includes the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and an upstart Los Angeles Chargers team. In fact, an argument could be made that they will be bottom feeders in the division now that the Denver Broncos added head coach Sean Payton to the mix.
Simply put, Vegas has done very little to improve a roster that won 11 games a season ago. This seems to have played a role in Adams’ recent outspoken ways.
“My goal is to win a Super Bowl with this team. And that’s why I didn’t come here to just be cute with Derek,” Adams says. “It is to really try and have a shot and change this organization.”
Now that Adams is about to enter his Age-31 season, that Super Bowl window doesn’t appear to be within grasp in Vegas. If this frustration continues to boil over, it would not be a huge surprise if a trade request is made behind the scenes.
- Davante Adams stats (2018-22): 532 receptions, 6,826 yards, 61 TD
Among the most-productive receivers of the past half decade, there wouldn’t be a limited number of teams interested in Adams’ services. Teams deemed as contenders such as the New York Giants, Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers could have interest.
It certainly is something worth monitoring as the NFL offseason continues and training camps approach later in the summer. Nothing Adams has said recently changes this dynamic. In fact, it might add fuel to the fire.