Henderson, Nevada. “No,” Davante Adams said, “he and Derek Carr weren’t ‘scheming’ to trade him from the Green Bay Packers to the Las Vegas Raiders to reunite the old Fresno State Bulldogs in Sin City.”
But the All-Pro wide receiver and the quarterback who holds virtually every passing record in Raiders franchise history spoke. Many.
“This is something we’ve definitely been looking forward to, possibly in the future,” Adams said at his opening press conference at the team’s facility on Tuesday, five days after the blockbuster swap that brought the Adams Raiders into the spotlight. .
“But obviously I’m playing in Green Bay, a great situation, having, you know, the best quarterback[in Aaron Rodgers]is a dream in itself. So I never take anything away, everything that Green Bay or Aaron gave me. It was a wonderful opportunity to work there and do what I have been doing for almost ten years. But, you know, sometimes things change. This is not the first time an influential player in the organization has had to leave. I feel like it worked out for both sides in the end.”
Adams, 29, received a $20.14 million franchise label for receivers from the Packers, who later received the Raiders’ first and second round picks this year, No. 22 and 53 overall. And the Raiders got their first one still in their prime who really wants to be a Raider after Hall of Famer Tim Brown at the turn of the century. And Adams signed a five-year, $142.5 million extension with a guarantee that $67.5 million would stay in Las Vegas and a good college friend would throw balls at him to boot.
Yes, the Raiders, their quarterback and the fans were definitely happy.
Adams set the Packers single-season franchise records for catches (123) and receiving yards (1,553) last season and became only the sixth player in NFL history to have over 120 catches, 1,500-plus yards and 11-plus touchdowns in a single season. . He is also the only player in league history to score three seasons of 110-plus receptions, 1,350-plus yards and 11-plus TDs in 2018, 2020 and 2021.
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Carr, who turns 31 next week, has a career-high 4,804 passing yards, although he has a career-high 14 interceptions and was fired 40 times, the second most of his career.
“Once we got to the point where[the potential deal]was something real, it wasn’t just a thought, we started trying to come up with a little plan,” Adams said. “I was traded, so it wasn’t just about us.
“We didn’t plan it. We just tested each other in terms of football. We check each other out about family and real things. a great teammate for your current organization if that’s all you’re worried about.
“He had to worry about passing the ball to Hunter (Renfrow) and Darren (Waller) and those guys and being a great teammate here. And I had to do my best to try and get into the Super Bowl. Obviously, this has not happened to any of us. So, once we got to the point where (the deal) was real, we started having fun.”
Adams said his plans included improving “the quality of life”. That he had many relatives in California who had never seen him play in person since college. That Las Vegas was much closer than Green Bay. That one of his grandmothers had recently been in the hospital.
“Just thinking and thinking about the things in life and the things that really matter in this world,” he said. “That’s what I think about when I have to make a decision.”
Plus, growing up in East Palo Alto, California, about 26 miles southwest of the Oakland Coliseum, Adams has said he’s a “lifelong” Raiders fan. So joining them was a bonus.
“It’s a dream to be a raider, man,” Adams said. “The dream has come true. In my third grade yearbook, I said I wanted to be, you know, an NFL star or an NBA star. And at the time I was wearing a Charles Woodson jersey. forever, so I guess you could say it was meant to be.”
Woodson, who played defensive end for both the Raiders and Packers and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last summer, has watched Adams a lot during his career.
“What makes him a special player is that he really knows how to get a breakup,” Woodson told ESPN. “The most important thing between a good and a great receiver is separation. And most of the time it will be open.
“It will help Derek Carr in the future.”
Adams and Carr entered the NFL together in 2014, Carr was taken in the second round by the Raiders 36th overall, Adams 17 times, later by the Packers.
But the reunion was not the focus of congratulations, which Adams says he received.
“Everyone says, ‘Congratulations on being in the Raiders,’” he laughed. “It wasn’t ‘Congratulations on $140 million.’ It was, “Congratulations, you’re playing for the team you grew up with.”
“Obviously, I’ve already made a lot of money. But to have that kind of security, to get to a place that’s almost like graduating from high school and going back to college, you’re a kid in a candy store. To be [in] a place where they are happy to have you and give you all that money? It’s just a bonus. But happiness is not in money; it can buy you a nice house. It’s pretty cool.”