Getty Las Vegas Raiders WR Davante Adams.
Davante Adams grew up a Las Vegas Raiders fan and the team is much closer to his family, which played a role in why he was traded to the team last year. However, it almost never happened.
Adams was set to hit free agency last year but the Green Bay Packers placed the franchise tag on him instead of offering him a competitive long-term deal. That rubbed him the wrong way, which is why he’s a Raider now.
“It was obviously a lot of limbo with Aaron [Rodgers] and his situation, deciding what his future was gonna be like playing football, let alone on that team, so it wasn’t really a risk that I could take at the time (staying in Green Bay long-term), and it was a decision that had to be made,” Adams said in an October 6 interview with The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman. “But had they made the correct offer or submitted something like they did right before I left, then I would’ve 100 percent been there for another year, and then we would obviously see what happened had it moved forward, but at least for that upcoming season, I would say yes, I would’ve been there.”
The Packers were coming off three straight 13-win seasons and quarterback Aaron Rodgers was a back-to-back MVP. It was about as good of a situation as a wide receiver could be in. The Packers would look very different right now had they given Adams the contract he wanted.
Davante Adams in ‘Good Place’ With Green Bay Packers
Davante Adams is set to play against the Packers for the first time in his career in Week 5 as the Raiders host the team. Though Adams didn’t end up staying in Green Bay, he made it clear he doesn’t have any hard feelings toward his old team.
“We ended in a good place,” Adams said “I still, not frequently, but I still speak to the front-office guys over there. I checked in on Matt (LaFleur) in the offseason, hit him on his birthday.”
All the coaches over there I love — the ones that are still there. The players, obviously they understood the situation as well, so it wasn’t some big, crazy breakup that people thought it was. Obviously, it felt like it just because everything seemed good a week ago and then obviously I was gone, but a lot of love and respect, mutual love and respect, between the Packers and I.”
Jaire Alexander on facing his former Packers teammate Davante Adams:
“I wouldn’t say it’s like the Super Bowl or the playoffs, but it’s kind of like that.”
“It’s pretty evident he’s the best.”
Davante Adams Not Treating Game Any Differently
The Raiders are on a three-game losing streak and need wins. Having a big game against his former team could be extra motivation for Davante Adams but he claims that he’s treating it like any other game.
“That’s the part leading up to it, but then once the game starts, it’s just like every other game,” Adams said. “It’s not gonna be a whole lot of emotion and all that other stuff tied up in it once the clock is ticking, so the story and the specialness of the opportunity to play a team that you kind of grew up in that organization is special.”
Adams knows a lot of the players and coaches on the Packers so it will be different for him than playing against other teams but it sounds like he’s just going to focus on doing what he can do to win.