Going back to the day the Raiders moved on from Derek Carr, Davante Adams has been tossed around as a possible candidate.
We know teams have called about a trade, but to this point they have all been rebuffed.
Several media personalities have speculated that the Raiders might be willing to trade Adams before the trade deadline and former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason even reported that he heard it was going to happen before the regular season.
“I’m hearing — that this is going to happen, if it does happen — somewhere in late August, early September,” Esiason said. “I’m not sure about why it would take that long… Davante is never going to come out publicly and say, ‘I want to leave the Raiders,’” Esiason said. “But you do hear in this wide receiver program [“Receiver” on Netflix], where he does this, ‘I got to get out of here before I get killed.’ He says that. That leads the viewer to believe that he wants out of Vegas.”
Esiason’s comments made a lot of headlines last month and sparked a statement from Adams’ agent where he called the trade rumors “baseless.”
“This is baseless, unfounded speculation and Davante is expected to be with the Raiders as there has been absolutely no trade talk – period,” his agent, Frank Bauer, told ESPN in July.
It wasn’t a weak statement from Bauer, but it’s also worth noting that he doesn’t hold all the chips in the situation. Plans can change quickly in the NFL and there are scenarios where it might make sense for Adams and the Raiders to look at trade opportunities.
Raiders GM Tom Telesco is surely aware of those scenarios and while acknowledging that Adams is a part of the Raiders’ plan, he has taken a softer approach to addressing trade rumors around his star wide receiver.
Last week, Raiders GM Tom Telesco made an appearance on the Scoop City podcast with Dianna Russini and was given an opportunity to squash the trade rumors around Adams.
“Can we say trading that Davante Adams is off the table [to the] New York Jets?” Russini asked Telesco. “Can we just let them know that it’s not happening or are we just going to wait for the season to come about?”
“This sounds like Scoop City, huh?” Telesco responded. “Just take Frank Bauer’s statement. Give him some pub.”
It was a smart response from Telesco as he didn’t put anything on record other than the fact that Adams is a part of the Raiders’ plan.
If the season starts well for the Raiders, Telesco has every reason to keep Adams around. But what would be the best outcome for the Raiders and Adams if the Raiders get off to a rough start?
If they could get a young player or a first-round pick for Adams, should the Raiders think about doing it?
Just something to think about because there could be trade options between now and October that make sense for both Adams and the organization.
x: @raidersbeat
If the Raiders dont stop wasting the years of great players we will become a short stop that players make for purpose of receiving huge payday then going elsewhere to compete for title.
We need to begin being that team that players wanna come to for purpose of getting ring, not payday. We use to be that team. We may never return with Mark Davis being owner.