Davante Adams is no longer with the Raiders, but fans and even some local media types still have a particular interest in the former All-Pro wide receiver after the way he forced his way out of the organization at the beginning of the season.
Adams said all the right things publicly, but behind the scenes he had reportedly been wiggling his way out of Las Vegas since before the start of the season.
Now the Raiders are tied to Adams only in the form of the third-round pick they will receive from the Jets, and the more the Jets lose, the higher the pick will be in April.
Still, there has been a certain amount of satisfaction that comes with watching the season implode around Adams in the Big Apple, and there’s a chance that matters are only going to get more complicated for the veteran wideout when the season is over.
Before he was traded to the Jets, Adams was assured by Aaron Rodgers that he wasn’t going to retire after the 2024 season. Adams didn’t want to be traded to the Jets and a year later find himself in a similar situation to what he left in Las Vegas.
“One league source familiar with the Adams trade told Yahoo Sports last week that the wideout agreed to be traded to the Jets with the condition that Rodgers would stick around through 2025,” Yahoo Sports insider Charles Robinson reported last week.
Rodgers apparently plans to play in 2025, but Adams might have a different problem on his hands after the season.
According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, the Jets might not be interested in having Rodgers back for another year.
“Plenty is hanging in the balance for the [Jets] — [they] will need to decide on their quarterback, head coach and possibly general manager this offseason,” Russini reported on Saturday. “I’m told no decisions have been made on any of the above, but let’s be clear: There is no guarantee Aaron Rodgers will be back in a Jets uniform in 2025.”
What happens with Adams and Rodgers next year won’t affect the Raiders, but as Raider Nation Radio host Q Myers said last week, it’s hard to watch the ship sinking in New York and not get a little satisfaction.
“I don’t like to be petty. Like none of us should be petty, or at least I don’t think I should be petty. But every time I see the Jets lose, it just puts a warm spot in my heart,” Myers said on the Locked on Raiders podcast. “When I see Davante somewhat struggle or put a ball on the ground, it puts a warm spot in my heart because so many issues and so many fingers that he pointed at the Raiders organization, and rightfully so, there’s a lot of them that could be pointed at him as well.”
“I am surprised that I’m even saying this, but he’s not quite the Davante Adams that he was,” Myers continued. “It’s being shown now that he’s back with his best buddy in Aaron Rodgers, and they’re still not having success. It really opens my eyes to, well, maybe he’s starting to drop off a little bit himself. When the Jets continue to lose, like I said, it continues to make a warm spot in my heart since that was what he preferred. He preferred to be traded from the Raiders because they were such a mess.”
For what it’s worth, Adams has already started talking about “the standard” not being met in New York and his comments in the media are already starting to sound like the ones he made in Las Vegas.
Going into week 11, the Jets have lost 5 of 6 games and the situation has reached a boiling point as they prepare for a game that they should be able to win.
The Jets host the 4-6 Colts on Sunday and if they don’t beat Indianapolis at home, it’s going to be a messy media week in New York.
x: @raidersbeat