Final Decision on Davante Adams Trade Plans Made by Raiders: Insider
The numerous pundits in attendance at Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas on Sunday said a lot, but most of it was uninteresting to supporters outside of San Francisco and Kansas City. However, this was not the case on NFL Network, as team insiders discussed the early offseason before it officially started. Without a question, one of the clubs to keep an eye on is the Raiders, particularly with wide receiver Davante Adams, one of the most talked-about players in the rumor mill.
Over the past few months, there has been a presumption that Adams, who is 31 years old, will demand to leave Las Vegas and seek a trade to the Jets in order to rejoin his former quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. There has been a lot of conjecture that the Raiders would be receptive to it.
Not quite so quickly, though. Regarding an Adams trade, insider Ian Rapoport stated the following during the NFL Network pregame show:
“Aaron Rodgers has reportedly been attempting to recruit Davante Adams to the Jets—recall that the Jets kind of made a run at him this past year—but there was nothing there. The Las Vegas Raiders are in win-now mentality and aren’t really in the business of trading away guys. Anticipated to retry during the off-season.
“From what I’ve been told, the Raiders have no intention of trading Davante Adams; they just want to win and think they can.”
Maintaining Davante Adams Brings the Raiders Near to Winning
Raiders Nation will probably respond to it more favorably than unfavorably because, for starters’ sake, Adams is one of the NFL’s top receivers even after a disorganized year in which he started games with three different quarterbacks, including a fourth-round rookie.
Despite the situation, Adams managed to record 103 receptions, 1,144 yards, and eight touchdowns—an outstanding performance.
If Adams stays, the team will likely continue to rely on a defense that has greatly improved this season and has the potential to develop still more with some aid from free agents and internal improvements.
Josh Jacobs and Adams will likely be the focal points of the offense, provided he decides to stay in free agency. There, the primary emphasis could be on strengthening the offensive line.
Quarterback Pick Hangs Over Everything
However, the Raiders’ quarterback situation will be crucial to the outcome of their season in 2019. This could indicate that Aidan O’Connell is given the reins once more by the organization or that the Raiders sign a free agent to provide cover.
In any case, it’s very much a goal to move up to take one of the Top 3 quarterbacks in 2017 draft, namely Jayden Daniels of LSU, who was once Antonio Pierce’s Arizona State recruit. That information came from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Pelissero stated that “owner Mark Davis grilled general manager candidates in that search about how potentially you could move up from No. 13 to get one,” indicating that new head coach Antonio Pierce wants to be aggressive in going after a franchise quarterback. “On Super Bowl opening night, I had a conversation with Davis, and he told me that since quarterback is arguably the most important position on the field, you have to ask yourself what their goal is. It’s a crucial question.
The cost a team like the Patriots, Commanders, or Bears would demand for one of the Top 3 selections, however, will be a barrier. Pelissero said that Tom Telesco, the new general manager, has only traded up once in the first round in his 11 years with the Chargers.
Veteran sports writer Sean Deveney works for Heavy.com, covering the NBA and NFL. With over 20 years of NBA coverage experience, including 17 years as the lead NBA correspondent for Sporting News, he has been writing for Heavy since 2019. A writer of seven nonfiction books, Deveney is the author of “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” Additional details regarding Sean Deveney