Much was said by the many talking heads in Las Vegas for Super Bowl 58 on Sunday, but much of that was of little interest to fans outside of San Francisco and Kansas City.
Not so on NFL Network, though, where the team’s insiders poked around the early stages of the offseason before it even began in earnest. And the Raiders are, no doubt, one of the teams to watch, especially as they’re sitting on one of the most talked-about stars on the rumor mill, wide receiver Davante Adams.
There has been a presumption laid out over the last few months that Adams, at age 31, will want out of Las Vegas and will force a trade to rejoin his former quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, with the Jets. And there has been ample speculation that the Raiders would be open to it.
Not so fast, however. Here’s what insider Ian Rapoport said on the NFL Network pregame show about an Adams deal:
“Aaron Rodgers has reportedly been attempting to recruit Davante Adams to the Jets—recall that the Jets kind of made a run at him this past year—but there was nothing there. The Las Vegas Raiders are in a win-now mentality and aren’t really in the business of trading away guys. Anticipated to retry during the off-season.
“From what I’ve been told, the Raiders have no intention of trading Davante Adams; they just want to win and think they can.”
The Insiders on @NFLGameDay: The #Raiders want to be aggressive, but trading up for a QB will be a real challenge; Aaron Rodgers has been recruiting Davante Adams, but the #Raiders don’t plan on trading great players; The #Bucs plans for Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans. pic.twitter.com/5pH8f1kFNw
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 11, 2024
Keeping Davante Adams Keeps Raiders Close to Competing
Raiders Nation will probably respond to it more favorably than unfavorably since, for starters’ sake, Adams is one of the NFL’s top receivers even after a disorganized year in which he started games with three different quarterbacks, including a fourth-round rookie.
Despite the situation, Adams managed to record 103 receptions, 1,144 yards, and eight touchdowns—an outstanding performance.
If Adams stays, the squad will likely continue to rely on a defense that has greatly improved this season and has the potential to develop much further with some support from free agents and internal improvements.
Josh Jacobs and Adams will likely be the focal points of the offense, provided he decides to stay in free agency. There, the primary emphasis may be on strengthening the offensive line.
Quarterback Decision Looms Over All
But quarterback will be the determining factor in how the Raiders’ season goes next year. That could mean the team hands the reins again to Aidan O’Connell, or that the Raiders bring in a stopgap free agent.
Either way, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that moving up to pick one of the Top 3 QBs in this draft—especially Jayden Daniels of LSU, formerly a recruit of Antonio Pierce during his time at Arizona State—is very much a goal.
“New head coach Antonio Pierce wants to be aggressive in going and getting a franchise quarterback, and owner Mark Davis grilled general manager candidates in that search about how potentially you could move up from No. 13 to get one,” Pelissero reported. “I spoke to Davis at Super Bowl opening night and he told me, ‘Quarterback probably is the most important position on the field, so you’ve got to ask, what is their vision. It’s an important question.’”
