Getty Davante Adams (left) and Maxx Crosby of the Raiders
The Raiders are 1-2 and, even at their best in this 2023 NFL season, have not looked particularly good.
And star receiver Davante Adams clearly has felt some frustration with the team’s start, which he expressed after the 23-15 loss to Pittsburgh in Las Vegas’ home opener. Adams’ comments raised eyebrows around the league, especially when he said, “I don’t got time to wait around,” a clear reference to the fact that he is 31 years old and wants to win, something that is not happening with the Raiders.
Whatever notions the quotes from Adams—a well-respected and level-headed Pro Bowl veteran with 11 years in the NFL behind him—stirred up, fellow Raiders star Maxx Crosby has his back. In fact, Crosby said, the team’s foibles this year have brought the two closer together.
𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚: #Raiders star WR Davante Adams says he doesn’t have time to “wait around” after the team’s slow start to the season…
“I don’t got time to just wait around… it’s not my mentality to take all season to figure it out.”
Davante wants to win.
“Davante is 100 percent right and he has a right to be frustrated because that dude shows up every day and he gets better,” Crosby said of his teammate. “Me and him are tight as ever because that’s how we are since day one. That’s why he’s elite and he has a right to feel that way, and I feel the exact same way. We’ve got to stop beating ourselves. It’s something we’ve got to look at and find out how we can avoid doing that.”
Raiders’ Numbers Have Been Tough
The numbers say a lot. The Raiders are minus-7 in turnover differential having given away six interceptions and one fumble, without getting even one turnover to their credit. That’s tied for worst in the NFL. They’re 28th in points scored and 24th in points allowed, and have the league’s worst-ranked rushing game.
Adams talked at length in the locker room on Sunday about the Raiders’ tendency to say the right things early in the week, but fail to execute those things on game day.
“We’ve got to be real with ourselves,” Adams said. “We get these opportunities to watch tape together and do these constructive things, we’ve got to get something out of it. That’s not just talking, but it’s about putting it to action and figuring out what’s wrong and doing something about it so that way when we go out there the next time it looks different.”
The turnover issue is the most pressing problem. Teams simply can’t win if they’re giving the ball away to end possessions and never forcing the opponent to do the same.
“You gotta take care of the ball,” Adams said. “You look at all these analytics and all these things teams that won with the turnover battle, and all these things—they don’t mean sh** until you go out there and you play ball. We are having a tough time consistently doing that right now.
Would Davante Adams Request a Trade?
But the big question around Adams is whether he will be frustrated enough by his time in Las Vegas to ask out, and try to get the Raiders to trade him by the NFL’s October 31 deadline for deals. He is still an elite pass-catcher in the league, ranking fourth in receptions with 25 and fifth in yardage with 322. He’s getting older, though, and has yet to play in a Super Bowl.
He is not pushing any panic buttons. Yet.
“I don’t want to act like it’s all crazy – it’s Week 3,” Adams said at his locker. “But I don’t got time to wait around. It’s not a personal thing. I mean, it is a personal thing, but it ain’t just about me. It’s not my mentality to try to sit here and take all season to figure it out.”
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Maxx Crosby Backs up Davante Adams’ Tough Raiders Criticism