HENDERSON, Nevada – Pro Bowl receiver Davante Adams said Wednesday that he wants to return to the Las Vegas Raiders next season – despite the apparent imminent departure of his good friend Derek Carr and an underwhelming season for a team that must return to the playoffs — and also expect to be informed by head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler when it comes to choosing next season’s quarterback.
“Yeah, absolutely, I wouldn’t have been here or ended up here originally probably if Derek hadn’t been here,” Adams said at his weekly news conference. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean I won’t be here in case he isn’t here. That’s my boy. Obviously I’ve got his back through anything. I think I’ve made that more than clear at this point. I support him and I support everything. what he has to move forward too.
“But my dream was to play for this team before it was a Raider, and right now I want to try to make this thing work and keep doing what I’m doing here and get better and watch the team grow and get better too.”
Adams, who grew up a oakland The Raiders fan in Palo Alto, Calif., was acquired in a blockbuster trade in March from the Green Bay Packers for first- and second-round draft picks and has signed a five-year extension averaging $28.5 million per season with $67.5 million guaranteed, to reunite with his Fresno State quarterback in Carr. The Raiders, who would have been on the line for $40 million if Carr was injured, benched the ninth-year senior last week for the final two games of the season and started Jarrett Stidham instead. Carr, by mutual decision, has been away from the team since last Wednesday.
Stidham passed for 365 yards and three touchdowns, with two interceptions, in the Raiders’ 37-34 overtime loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, while Adams caught seven passes for 153 yards, his second-highest total of the season, and two touchdowns. .
On the season, Adams had 95 receptions for a franchise-record 1,443 yards (Hall of Famer Tim Brown had 1,408 receiving yards in 1997) and an NFL-leading 14 TD receptions. He was named to his sixth straight Pro Bowl and is slated for his third consecutive first-team All Pro selection.
“He hasn’t missed a workout, like literally a few reps, the entire year,” McDaniels said of Adams. “So to put in that kind of work, that kind of effort and that kind of dedication to his craft when he’s already achieved everything that he’s achieved before he was here, I think that shows how amazing a person he is. And he’s been like that every day we were with him.
“He wants to do things right every time he walks into the building. He’s a great representative, a great role model for young players who are trying to figure it out – if you want to emulate someone he would be a really good one to follow.”
In addition to Stidham, a 2019 New England Patriots fourth-round pick who will be a free agent after Saturday’s final against the Kansas City Chiefs (13-3), the Raiders (6-10) should be linked with the likes of potential free agents Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo, both with experience in the McDaniels system.
“Me, Josh, Ziggs, we all have a really good dynamic and it’s something I really appreciate, and I mentioned that to them as well,” Adams said about wanting to be kept in the loop of a potential QB chase. “They don’t have to do anything – I’m not part of the front office – but they know why I came here. And a step like that is something that means a lot to me and my personal career. and what I’m trying to pursue until the final quest. , to get that ring.
“We have a good understanding of each other and that helps the whole process.”
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