Getty Davante Adams & Antonio Pierce of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Following a Week 4 win over the Cleveland Browns that brought the Las Vegas Raiders to 2-2, it seemed like the chatter around a Davante Adams trade would cool down for a bit. That’s not the case thanks to head coach Antonio Pierce.
Sports Illustrated posted on Instagram that Michael Fabiano predicted that Adams has already played his last snap with the Raiders. For some reason, Pierce liked the Instagram post.
Interesting … look who liked this post.
There’s a lot wrong with this. Most NFL head coaches aren’t on Instagram, let alone liking a post that suggests their best offensive player is getting traded. Naturally, this stirred a lot of speculation and it’s not looking like the Raiders are finally considering an Adams trade.
According to an October 1 X post from the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore, Las Vegas is starting to reach out to teams to gauge their interest in Adams.
More on this to come: A league source with knowledge of the situation confirmed that the @Raiders are growing open to the idea of trading Davante Adams. The source said the club has begun reaching out to teams to gauge interest in the veteran wide receiver.
This comes mere days after ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Raiders had no interest in trading Adams. It’s not entirely clear what might have changed the team’s thinking. The star wide receiver is currently dealing with a hamstring injury and missed his first game in Week 4 since joining the team.
Davante Adams Hasn’t Heard From Antonio Pierce
This situation could’ve been nipped in the bud quickly if Pierce reached out to Adams or put out a statement that he misread the post or that he accidentally liked it. According to Adams, he hasn’t spoken to the coach.
“I haven’t heard from [Pierce]. I haven’t talked to him,” Adams said on the October 1 episode of “Up & Adams.” “I don’t really know what that was about. Obviously, social media is a beast, so it’s a lot of people out there that saw it and wondering what’s going on, and people reaching out.”
3x All Pro WR Davante Adams addresses his HC Antonio Pierce liking a post suggesting Adams will be traded…
“I haven’t heard from him (Pierce)… I don’t really know exactly what that’s all about.”
@heykayadams @tae15adams @Raiders
This was an unforced error from Pierce and puts Adams in an awkward situation.
“Honestly, it’s hard to comment on,” Adams said. “It’s one of those situations where I just keep my head down and keep down my thing, and let the chips fall where they may. There’s been no communication with anybody from the team since that became thing … there’s always some sort of [trade] drama, but at the end of the day one-seven doesn’t create any of it.”
Adams was a big proponent of the Raiders hiring Pierce as the full-time head coach and it’s not a good look if he’s turning his back on the former All-Pro.
How Will This Situation Be Resolved?
For the first time since Adams joined the Raiders, it feels realistic that he could get traded at any moment. The team won a big game against the Browns without him and they may feel like it’s better to get a draft asset right now than to continue to pay him big money.
That said, Adams is still an important player for the team. He’s their best offensive player and a team captain. Though he’s only had one big game this year, he’s capable of putting up big numbers when the ball is consistently thrown his way. The Raiders may want to see what they have in Jakobi Meyers and Tre Tucker for the rest of the season but it’s difficult to know what they might do in the coming weeks.
