Getty Las Vegas Raiders WR Davante Adams.
After a quiet offseason, Davante Adams has been much more outspoken in recent weeks. He recently turned heads when he said in an interview with The Ringer that he hasn’t seen “eye-to-eye” with everything the Las Vegas Raiders have done this offseason. He quickly came out and posted a picture with general manager Dave Ziegler to do some damage control but there’s now speculation that he’s not happy with his current team.
A big reason why people guess that he’s not happy has to do with the Raiders’ quarterback situation. Adams came to the team to play with his close friend Derek Carr. They only got to play in 15 games together before Carr was benched and eventually released. Las Vegas replaced him with Jimmy Garoppolo, who isn’t considered a great fit with Adams due to his tendency not to throw the ball downfield.
The star wide receiver has now decided to come out and make it clear that he’s excited about playing with Garoppolo.
“I’m ecstatic that Jimmy’s here,” Adams said on the May 19 episode of “I AM ATHLETE.” “Jimmy is a great guy. I’ve been around him a lot now, I’ve spent a lot of time at the facility when we’re doing these workouts. And I like the guy that he is, and obviously, we all working to get healthy to be in a great spot to where we can go out there and have a good year. And I’m very optimistic about it.”
Winning Cures All
Adams got to play with Carr for most of last season and put up big numbers but likely wasn’t happy after the team only got six wins. If Carr stayed and they won six games again, there’s no doubt he’d be frustrated with the situation. While Garoppolo isn’t the most exciting quarterback in the NFL, he has won a bunch of games.
He has a career record of 40-17 as a starter while Carr has a record of 63-79. Garoppolo has been fortunate to play on some very good teams but he hasn’t held them back. How Garoppolo performs for the Raiders and Carr performs for the New Orleans Saints could finally settle the debate on how much a quarterback affects winning. If Garoppolo joins the Raiders and immediately helps turn them around, Adams will be happy and he’ll have proven that he has a certain innate quality that helps his teams win.
Adams Named Among Top Players Over 30
The biggest concern Adams must have is regarding his age. The star wide receiver turned 30 last season and isn’t getting younger. However, he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. John Kosko of Pro Football Focus decided to go through and rank the best players 30 and over. Adams came in at No. 4.
“A season ago, Adams quietly had one of the best seasons of any receiver, but no one noticed because the Raiders struggled to win games,” Kosko wrote. “Adams’ 14 touchdowns led the league, and his combined 92.9 grade over the past two seasons is the third-best mark of any player over the age of 30.”
As long as he stays healthy, Adams should be a productive player for a long time. He doesn’t win with elite athleticism. What makes him special is his intelligence and route-running ability. Those are things that will stay with him until he retires.