Getty Davante Adams of Las Vegas Raiders.
There’s no doubt Davante Adams thought he’d be catching passes from Jimmy Garoppolo in 2023 when he requested a trade to the Las Vegas Raiders last year. He came to the team in large part to play with Derek Carr. Once it became clear that the team was moving on from Carr, Adams let it be known that he was planning to stay in Las Vegas going forward.
The wide receiver said that he was going to be involved in the quarterback search so he had to know that Garoppolo was an option before the signing happened. After the news broke, Adams posted a cryptic message on his Instagram story that said, “if we haven’t talked in the last 3 weeks don’t hit me about this sh**. Thanks.”
Many took that post as Adams being upset about the Garoppolo signing. That wasn’t actually the case. He took to Twitter to clarify that he was annoyed about the influx of people reaching out to him. He then sent a message to Garoppolo and showed his support.
Don’t make too much of it…phone dry then here comes everybody tryna get the inside scoop. Shit is annoying thats it. Jimmy let’s get this 💰 👊🏾
The last thing the Raiders need is their best player being upset about the quarterback situation. Luckily, it doesn’t appear he’ll be making too big of a deal about the signing.
Will Adams Still Have Success With Garoppolo?
Adams has arguably been the best wide receiver in the NFL for several seasons now. He’s a six-time Pro Bowler and is on a Hall of Fame trajectory if he keeps playing at a high level. However, he’s been fortunate enough to catch passes from future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers for much of his career. Carr wasn’t as successful as Rodgers but he’s still a four-time Pro Bowler who had played with Adams in college. Garoppolo has never been to a Pro Bowl and isn’t known as a quarterback who can sling it all over the field.
Adams thrives on making plays down the field despite not possessing elite speed. Garoppolo doesn’t have the arm strength or accuracy to hit deep passes. Adams has the third most receptions of 20 or more yards in the NFL since 2018, per The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen. Garoppolo is 48th in the NFL in such throws in the same time span. Adams is going to have to adjust his game but he’s good enough to make it work. He should still be able to put up big numbers regardless of who his quarterback is.
Garoppolo May Be Short-Term Option at QB
Adams is already 30 so he’s not going to be in love with the idea of having a stopgap quarterback for any period of time. Unfortunately for him, there’s no way for the Raiders to get off his contract even if they were to try and trade him. He’s going to accept what the team does. That plan could include the team adding an exciting rookie.
If Las Vegas is to take a player like Anthony Richardson in the first round, there’s a good chance he’ll play in 2023 due to Garoppolo’s injury history. He’s got a cannon for an arm and will be able to hit Adams on deep passes. Things aren’t looking very exciting for the Raiders right now but there’s still a lot that can happen in the coming weeks.