Things haven’t necessarily gone as planned for Davante Adams in Las Vegas. The wideout pushed his way out of Green Bay and landed with the Raiders and his college QB, Derek Carr. That QB/WR tandem only lasted one season, with the Josh McDaniels–Dave Ziegler regime shaking up the quarterback position ahead of the 2023 campaign.
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Adams hinted at some frustration before the Raiders ditched that head coach/GM duo, but the receiver admitted that interim-turned-full-time head coach Antonio Pierce is a big reason why he’s content ahead of the 2024 season.
“I wouldn’t be feeling as good as I do now,” Adams said of Pierce’s promotion during an appearance on “Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams” (via NFL.com’s Nick Shook). “That’s for sure. He’s the type of guy that I really enjoy speaking to, working with, so I basically tried to do everything that I could to make it to where the front office didn’t have any other choice.”
Pierce guided the Raiders to a 5-4 record after McDaniels was canned, a performance that helped earn him a promotion to the full-time gig. While there’s still uncertainty at the quarterback position, Adams is committed to the Raiders…and he’s denying inquiries from some of his former teammates. Specifically, Adams admitted that Aaron Rodgers has been “in that ear” since the quarterback moved to the Jets.
“It’s not as easy as — obviously we can get together and talk about the old times and potential of doing this and that, but like I said I’m a Raider, and he knows that,” Adams said. “Maybe in the next lifetime.”
Adams also said he’s heard from former teammate Josh Jacobs, who joined the wideout’s former squad in Green Bay this offseason.
“I told him you go ahead and hold it down,” Adams said. “I’m gonna hold it down over here. I don’t think I’ll be coming back over there. Never know what’s gonna happen. If they ship me off, there’s not much I can do about it, but I’m a Raider. So nobody got to worry about that.”
Despite the management changes, the Raiders quickly quieted trade chatter this offseason, with both Pierce and new GM Tom Telesco (along with owner Mark Davis) expressing interest in keeping Adams around long-term. The wideout is attached to massive $44MM cap hits in both 2025 and 2026, but the Raiders could get out of the deal next offseason with only a temporary dead cap hit of $15.7MM. While both sides are currently saying all the right things, Adams’ future in Las Vegas will still be worth watching over the next year.