Everyone's Saying the Same Thing About Davante Adams After Raiders Injury News

A year ago, it might have been considered outrageous or, at the least, very, very unlikely. But as the weeks and months have dragged on, it feels as though Davante Adams’ time with the Las Vegas Raiders may be coming to an end.

Adams has not requested a trade, and he has been one of the strongest backers of coach Antonio Pierce, going back to last season when he spearheaded the player-led movement that resulted in the firing of unpopular coach Josh McDaniels. But he also turns 32 years old in December, and has never played in a Super Bowl.

It’s clear this Raiders group is not going to change that, though. Adams’ poor numbers—209 yards and one touchdown in three games—and the frustration he has shown at times this season has caused the chatter around a potential Adams trade to pick up. What seemed a longshot last year is looking more possible this year.

Now comes news of Adams’ hamstring injury, which has forced the Raiders to rule him out for Week 4. There’s still a month to go before the NFL’s trade deadline, so there’s some suspicion that Adams is sitting out to protect his health before a trade goes down.

And, of course, the social-media wiseguys jumped on that notion, with memes-aplenty showing Adams miraculously recovering after the Raiders trade him away.

It’s is not just Twitter/X speculation, though. Reasonable beat reporters are sounding the trade-Adams call, too, and it makes sense. The Raiders have an out in Adams’ contract after this season, but have a $44 million cap hit for next season if they keep him.

Vic Tafur, the Raiders writer for The Athletic, said on the “ Just Win ” podcast that the time to trade Adams has come.

“I think it has to be,” Tafur said. “If they have a losing record at the deadline, or close to it, I don’t see why you wouldn’t move him.

“I don’t think you’re going to bring him back at the price you’d want if you have a losing record. If you’re in the playoff chase, then maybe you think about it, but if your closer to being in the rebuilding phase than you are to being a contender, I don’t know why you would not trade him.”