Antonio Pierce Comments on Davante Adams' Preseason Absence

On Saturday, the Las Vegas Raiders played the Dallas Cowboys for their second preseason game out of three. Las Vegas lost 27-12 in a game that got away from them in the fourth quarter.

However, they were without arguably their best player on offense as receiver Davante Adams didn't suit up for the game.

Earlier this week, Adams commented that if it were up to him, he'd instead not suit up for a preseason game. It's hard to argue with that since Adams has long since proved himself in the league, and preseason games are mostly meaningless for veterans of his stature.

However, after that, Raiders' head coach Antonio Pierce claimed that everyone healthy would play against Dallas. So, when Adams didn't suit up, it initially seemed confusing.

However, Pierce clarified things a bit, revealing that it was more so a precautionary decision.

"The other night when we had...the practice here at the stadium, he had an awkward movement where he just got sore," Pierce said via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN. "He missed practice on Thursday. And like I said, if a guy's not 100% healthy I wasn't going to risk it. It's not worth it. He'll be back to practice come Tuesday."

Pierce mentioned that during the team's open practice on Wednesday, Adams had some awkward movement that caused some soreness, which then caused him to miss practice on Thursday.

Related: Why the Raiders Made the Right Choice Starting Gardner Minshew

Knowing this now, it makes more sense why Adams didn't play on Saturday. There's no reason to risk injuring your veterans in the preseason. That's especially true for Adams, who has nothing left to prove and was already dealing with some soreness.

The good news for Adams is that he'll have time to rest before the regular season starts. Most starters likely won't play in the team's third preseason game, and there's an extra bye week after that before the Raiders take on the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1.