There are all kinds of fascinating wrinkles to the trade that sent receiver Davante Adams from the Green Bay Packers to the Las Vegas Raiders for a first- and a second-round pick — the 22nd and 53rd selections in the 2022 draft.
Wait. That’s ALL the Packers got? The Raiders didn’t throw in a couple more first-rounders and Al Davis’ old sunglasses for the best receiver in football?
Apparently not. What we know is that Adams and the Packers were far apart in negotiations on a new contract, and the Raiders were quite willing to transact. Green Bay had placed the franchise tag on Adams to buy more time, but reports now indicate that even as Aaron Rodgers was signing his new extension with the Packers after so much drama, Rodgers knew that he’d probably never throw to Adams again.
This even when the Packers were willing to match (or possibly exceed) Las Vegas’ offer — a five-year, $141.25 million contract that makes Adams the highest-paid receiver in football.
Per a source, the Packers we’re willing to pay Adams equally to what the Raiders are with this new deal but Adams preferred to play elsewhere.
Aaron Rodgers was aware of the developments with Adams as they unfolded in recent days.
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) March 17, 2022
Now, THAT’s a spicy meatball.
So, why would Adams choose the Raiders and Derek Carr — a far above-average quarterback — over Rodgers, who’s absolutely one of the five best throwers of the football we’ve ever seen?
Source: The Packers were willing to pay Davante Adams as much or more than the Raiders are. It came down to him wanting out and to play with Derek Carr, his college QB.
Also per source, Aaron Rodgers knew this was coming and still signed his new Packers contract.
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) March 17, 2022
The answer may well go back to Adams’ college days.
Davante Adams and Derek Carr played 2 seasons together at Fresno State (2012-2013)
In that span:
– Adams led the FBS in receptions, rec yards and rec TD
– Carr led the FBS in pass yards and pass TD
– The Bulldogs won the inaugural Mountain West Championship Game#Reunited pic.twitter.com/NegfMeOinQ— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) March 17, 2022
The Bulldogs were indeed a formidable force with Carr and Adams in 2012 and 2013 — Carr threw 87 touchdown passes to 15 interceptions in that time, and Adams caught 233 of Carr’s passes for 3,031 yards and 38 touchdowns.
Carr, as you would imagine, was pretty happy about the whole thing when it came down.
Welcome home @tae15adams 🏴☠️
— Derek Carr (@derekcarrqb) March 18, 2022
“It’s pretty much out there in the media already, but he’s a real good guy,” Adams said of his quarterback at the 2014 scouting combine. “He looks kind of like a… I don’t know, he comes of as kind of like a… I don’t know how to explain it. He has a really good personality. He’s a guy whose spirit keeps everybody up all the time. You might see the part of him where he looks like a leader all the time. But he’ll come to me and say, ‘I need a pick-me-up right here; I’m not feeling too good about this.’ Whether it’s life or on the field, he’s human just like the rest of us.
“Obviously, our coaching staff trusted him a lot to let him do his thing out there, and he called a lot of the plays. We ran the spread and the up-tempo offense, and he went out there and did his thing. I don’t know how many guys – me and [fellow receiver] Isaiah [Burse] definitely appreciate him. It got us here to the combine. I was fine with him being Batman – that’s what they called him – and I’ll be Robin if it gets me to the combine and gets me to the next level.”
“He’s the best,” Carr said of Adams at that same combine. “Some people say he’s not the fastest on tape, but I still haven’t seen him get caught on tape. He’ll definitely have one of, if not the best, vertical leaps. I’ve seen him dunk and he’s looking down through the rim. I don’t think that’s supposed to happen with how tall he is.”
When you dig up Fresno State tape from back in the day, the chemistry between Carr and Adams was pretty obvious.
This deep pass to Adams against Utah State in the 2013 Mountain West Conference Championship showed the timing between quarterback and receiver. Adams went off in his penultimate game with Carr, catching nine passes for 168 yards and a touchdown. (Isaiah Burse caught 17 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown in that game. The Bulldogs liked to throw the ball).
This fade touchdown in that same game amplified the idea that Carr understood what to do in the red zone — get the ball to Davante, and let him look down on the net.
And there’s no need to take extra time aligning quarterback and receiver on possession routes — they’ve already got that burned in from way back.
There was never any outward sign of tension between Rodgers and Adams, who became the most prolific quarterback-receiver duo in the Packers’ storied franchise history. Perhaps this just more about Davante Adams wanting to go home again, and the Raiders making that possible.
