Getty Davante Adams with Aaron Rodgers.
The NFL world got hit with some really bad news when New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles on the first drive of his Week 1 matchup against the Buffalo Bills. His season is done for and it’s possible that he could be done playing football entirely.
Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams played with Rodgers for eight years while they were both on the Green Bay Packers. Adams even tried to recruit the quarterback to the Raiders this offseason. He was devastated to see his former teammate suffer such a serious injury so early in the season.
“It’s like a horrible movie,” Adams said during his September 13 press conference. “You don’t want to see the main character go down like that at all, let alone as early as it was … that’s my guy. It sucks, just praying that his mental is in a good spot right now.”
Rodgers has dealt with serious injuries before in the 2014 and 2017 seasons but he was much younger then. He’ll be 40 before he’s able to return to football. This is a blow to the NFL as the Jets are slated to play five primetime games this season with the idea that Rodgers was going to play. They’ll be featuring Zach Wilson as the starting Jets quarterback.
Davante Adams Doesn’t Practice
Davante Adams didn’t leave the Week 1 matchup against the Denver Broncos unscathed. The Raiders revealed in their September 13 injury report that Adams is dealing with a foot injury and didn’t practice. The fact that he still did his weekly press conference is a good sign that he’ll be ready to play against the Bills on Sunday.
Adams is a veteran and will get more days off than younger players. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was a limited participant with an ankle issue but there doesn’t seem to be reason for concern about his status this week. Jakobi Meyers, who suffered a concussion against Denver, didn’t practice, and neither did DeAndre Carter, who is dealing with a knee issue. It appears that Chandler Jones will also be out again as he wasn’t a participant in practice.
The Raiders are much hobbled heading into Week 2 than the Bills as only center Mitch Morse was listed on their injury report and he was a full participant in practice.
Buffalo Bills Preparing for Las Vegas Raiders Offense
The Bills allowed just 17.9 points per game last season, which was second-best in the NFL. The Raiders have an offense that is loaded with talent. Star safety Micah Hyde isn’t overlooking what Las Vegas can do on offense.
“That’s the type of ball that McDaniels likes to play,” Hyde said of the Raiders’ two-running back tendencies, via BuffaloBills.com. “So we gotta be ready for it. Great running back and offensive weapons on the outside with [Davante Adams] and [Jakobi Meyers], whether he’s gonna play or not. But they got some weapons and a good team, so they’re going to come in, they’re going to test us and be a big challenge for us.”
The Bills are coming off a Week 1 loss to the Jets but are still one of the top teams in the NFL. The Raiders won’t catch them off guard this week.