Jets’ Davante Adams Offers Explanation For Raiders Trade Request

Wide receiver Davante Adams offered an explanation for his Raiders trade request while speaking to reporters about his move to the New York Jets. Adams didn’t provide a crystal clear answer but eventually settled on the idea that he didn’t feel comfortable in Las Vegas.

“I want to feel like I can impact the game every time I touch the field,” Adams said. “Having the confidence that I’ll be able to make some plays and change the game, if need be, versus getting out there on the field and feeling like we need too many things to go right in order for me to be successful. And when I say ‘me be successful,’ I don’t mean me going out and having an All-Pro year every time… Sometimes you’ve got to make it easier and get to a situation that allows you to be yourself.”

Adams avoided saying that the Raiders were not competitive, and he wanted to succeed somewhere else, but he still strongly implied it. At age 32, he remains a premier wide receiver in the league and said that he is excited to be competing with former Packers teammate Aaron Rodgers again. Adams missed his last three Raiders games with a hamstring injury, but Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich said that he expects him to play in Week 7. 

For the duration of Adams’ tenure with the Raiders, the team was a massive underachiever and made several decisions that pulled the proverbial rug from under the wide receiver’s feet. The most impactful of these moves was to send away quarterback Derek Carr, who was a major draw to get Adams in Las Vegas in the first place.

As a member of the Jets, Adams is entering a tense situation. Though his arrival should be a massive help to the offense, the team has underachieved to this point and is still reeling in many ways from former head coach Robert Saleh’s shocking termination.

Following the firing, many argued that getting rid of Saleh, a defense-oriented leader, did very little to solve the team’s problems on offense. In this case, adding Adams is a concrete move in the right direction, giving Rodgers another reliable option down the sidelines. With his ideal situation now in full effect, it is now on the quarterback to prove that he can lead this team to the postseason.