Davante Adams agents shoot down 'baseless' trade rumors surrounding Raiders WR
Did you hear the buzz about Raiders receiver Davante Adams returning to the Packers? No wait, he’s headed to the Jets, right?
It depends on which rumor sounds the most enticing, because both scenarios are making the NFL rounds as training camps kick off around the league. It’s safe to say that Adams is the most popular Raiders player on the team.
But Adams’ agents say quit with the rumors. Adams is staying put. ESPN’s Adam Schefter shared a joint statement from Adams’ representatives Kenny Chapman and Frank Bauer.
The statement was emphatic: “This is baseless, unfounded speculation and Davante is expected to be with the Raiders as there has been absolutely no trade talk – period.”
But before everyone blames the chatty media, the Adams trade speculation is being amplified by two prominent NFL players and former teammates. They are running back Josh Jacobs, who was formerly with the Raiders and now with the Packers, and quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the ex-Green Bay star turned New York Jet.
Adams left the Packers for the Raiders in 2022. Before then, he and Rodgers enjoyed a terrific on-field connection. Adams posted 100-plus receiving seasons in 2018, 20 and 21 with the Packers. His final year in Green Bay, Adams caught 123 passes. He used that season as leverage to demand a trade. The Packers had placed a franchise tag on him, but they then sent him to the Raiders for a first- and second-round pick. Green Bay spent the first-round pick on Quay Walker.
Adams has fared well with the Raiders, at least statistically. He’s caught 203 passes in his two seasons to extend his string of consecutive Pro Bowls to six. But the Raiders were a train-wreck of a team. Vegas fired coach Josh McDaniels on Halloween last season. Antonio Pierce was the interim coach. But he’s now the full-time guy.
Meanwhile, Jacobs left the Raiders, where he’d won the NFL rushing title in 2022, for the Packers this past off season. He said he’s been trying to convince Adams, his roommate back in Vegas, to come back.
Jacobs messaged Adams. He told reporters in Green Bay about it. “When I came out here … I sent him the little eyes emoji. I said, ‘You thinking about coming back?’ But man, he loved it.”
Rodgers also is lobbying for Adams to leave the Raiders.
“He’s in the ear,” Adams said last week on the Up & Adams Show. “But it’s not as easy. Obviously, we can get together and talk about the old times and the potential of doing this and that. But like I said, I’m a Raider and he knows that.”
Then after Adams acknowledged that Rodgers is bugging him about the Jets, the quarterback brought up the subject.
“I love Davante Adams,” Rodgers told reporters covering the American Century Championship. “I can’t wait to play with him…again.”
But remember, Adams’ agents say he’s with the Raiders. Vegas heads to Costa Mesa, Calif., for training camp next week, with rookies reporting next Sunday, with Adams and the vets coming in two days later.