As the drama continues to swell between the Las Vegas Raiders and star wide receiver Davante Adams, it seems like every single person on the greater NFL landscape has an opinion on the potential divorce, from pundits to former players and even the current darling of the media landscape, Bill Belichick.
Discussing the idea of Adams being traded on Underdog Sports, Belichick noted that he doesn’t see the Raiders getting the “second-round pick and then some” the team was hoping for. Why? Because a second-round pick is simply too rich for an older player on a massive contract.
“Not for a second-round pick, which supposedly is what they’re asking for,” Belichick declared. “I don’t see how anyone’s going to give up a second-round pick for him. You’d have to think that this guy Adams is going to take us to the promised land, and he’s going to put us over the hump this year because he’s also got a big salary.”
Now granted, the idea of Adams being this old guy is frankly odd, as even with 11 NFL seasons on his resume, he’s only 31. Still, even if the market for Adams is slight, Belichick blames the Raiders for putting themselves in this situation, as they could have avoided it with a bit of foresight.
Bill Belichick believes the Raiders set themselves up for failure
Could the Raiders still end up trading Adams before the trade deadline? Yes, that feels incredibly likely, but in Belichick’s opinion, the Raiders really should have evaluated the situation better during the offseason. Why? Because if they knew the team’s ceiling wasn’t particularly high and Adams might want to be traded, they should have been brave enough to get the deal done when they had more leverage.
“Yeah, it’s a tough situation. That’s why when, when you see that storm coming, and it’s brewing, it’s best to do it earlier, not later,” Belichick said. “And right now, the Raiders are in a tough situation, they really are, but they’ve kind of put themselves into it. This wasn’t a big secret, this has been brewing for a while and the longer you put it off, the longer, it seems, to get anything done.”
After losing out on a premier quarterback in free agency and the draft, few external observers outside of the hardest or hardcore Raiders fans really saw a world where Las Vegas made it into the postseason in 2024. Though it may not have been particularly popular at the time, the idea of trading Adams a few weeks ago might have netted the team that two they’re looking for, especially when Brandon Aiyuk went off the board. Now, they are at the mercy of the market, which hasn’t been very hot as the weather cools off.
