Raiders coach Antonio Pierce channeled his inner Bill Belichick on Wednesday, giving his own take on “We’re on to Cincinnati” after being asked several times about star wide receiver Davante Adams’ situation with the team.
“Davante’s dealing with a hamstring (injury),” Pierce said. “He’s rehabbing, and the rest of us are focusing on Denver.”
The Raiders will play the Broncos on Sunday, and whether Adams will travel to Denver is still uncertain due to this week’s events.
He could miss his second straight game because of the hamstring injury, and there are multiple reports saying he wants to leave Las Vegas, with the Raiders possibly willing to grant that request.
Raiders players followed Pierce’s lead and said their main focus is preparing for the Broncos, though wide receiver Jakobi Meyers admitted that the Adams situation is a concern in the background.
“It’s going to be a distraction,” Meyers said. “It is what it is. We understand that. It’s really more so making plays regardless. It doesn’t matter what we get hit with — compartmentalizing and moving forward.”
Quarterback Gardner Minshew said Pierce addressed “the elephant in the room” with the players.
“He told us to kind of leave it there,” Minshew said. “That’s not for us to handle. Our job is to get out there and practice and prepare for this week. That’s all we can do and trust the guys upstairs are going to make the right decisions for our team.”
The first real sign of a possible separation came Tuesday when Adams appeared on the “Up and Adams Show” and mentioned he hadn’t heard from Pierce since the coach liked a social media post about possibly trading Adams.
Show host Kay Adams was surprised to hear that Pierce hadn’t reached out to Adams. “Yeah, I do, too,” Davante Adams said in response.
Pierce would not say whether he and Adams have talked since Tuesday. “That’s between me and Davante,” Pierce said.
Even before this week, Adams’ name often came up in trade rumors because his salary cap hit goes up significantly next year. There is also the question of whether the Raiders might want to gain assets for a possible rebuild.
Adams is still one of the top receivers in the NFL, even at nearly 32, due to his precise route running and ability to catch passes, even when double-teamed. Last season, he caught 103 passes for 1,144 yards and eight touchdowns.
It was his fifth 1,000-yard season in six years, with the only exception being the 997 yards he had in 2019. So far this season, he has caught 18 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown in three games.
The number of good seasons Adams may have left could make teams think twice, but if a contending team needs a missing piece for a possible Super Bowl run, he could be very appealing.
A trade would mostly depend on what the Raiders would want in return, especially since they gave up a lot in 2022 to get Adams.
Las Vegas sent the Packers first- and second-round picks in that year’s NFL draft and made Adams the highest-paid receiver at that time with a five-year, $140 million contract, which included nearly $66 million guaranteed.
His next two years are not guaranteed. Adams’ salary cap hit will increase from $25.35 million this season to $44.1 million for each of the next two years, according to Spotrac.
The NFL trade deadline is on Nov. 5, so there is time to make a deal, but keeping Adams on the roster could also lead to distractions for the Raiders. Pierce, however, downplayed the idea that Adams’ presence would be an issue.
“We’re focused on Denver,” he said.
