Davante Adams and Aaron Rodgers were a dynamic duo for the Packers for eight seasons. In the last five of them, the pair was one of the most dangerous tandems in the NFL. Rodgers won two MVP awards while Adams made five straight Pro Bowls and was named All Pro twice.
Adams and Rodgers had a unique chemistry during their time together. The two could give each other a brief look or a nod and change their play at the line of scrimmage. Over the last five years Adams played with the Packers, he and Rodgers were at their peak. Their back shoulder throws were almost impossible to stop and Rodgers looked to his favorite receiver in nearly every important situation whether it be third downs to keep drives alive or in the red zone when the team needed to score a touchdown to finish a drive.
That all changed after the 2021 campaign. Although the Packers placed the franchise tag on Adams, the former Fresno State star said he no longer wanted to play in Green Bay. According to Adams, money wasn’t the issue. Packers GM Brian Gutekunst made a competitive financial offer. But Tae wanted to play with his college teammate and friend, Derek Carr who was the quarterback in Vegas.
The results were mixed for Adams and the Raiders. The receiver caught 100 passes for the third straight season and the fourth time in his career. His 15.2-yard average per catch was the highest of his career and he led the league with 14 touchdown catches. Once again, Adams earned All Pro and Pro Bowl honors and he is still considered one of the league’s best receivers.
But as a team, the Raiders fell to 6-11 on the season and missed the playoffs. Carr was benched for the final two games of the season in favor of Jarrett Stidham. All indications are that Carr will not be returning to the Raiders in 2023.
So, the reason Adams left Green Bay to go to Vegas is not going to be there going forward. Meanwhile, rumors are churning in the press that the Packers and Rodgers may soon part ways. So, what is Adams doing? Right now he’s trying to encourage his former teammate to choose a trade to the Raiders.
Over the past weekend while Rodgers was golfing, Adams was talking to reporters at the Pro Bowl about a potential reunion with Rodgers. “Duh,” Adams said. “Why would anybody not do that? I mean, 100 percent. That’s my guy, obviously. And wishful thinking but we’ll see what happens.”
“Would I be interested in having Aaron Rodgers throw to me?” Adams said after the Pro Bowl. “Yes. I would love that. The trolling? I’m first-team all-troll so don’t take none of that too serious but I would love to have that and, obviously, that would be a dream scenario [and] one that I’m very familiar with. But anything you see on Twitter, that’s not a tell of anything. That’s just wishful thinking.”
When he was asked what his pitch was to Rodgers, Adams was simple and direct. “That I’m here,” Adams said. “I think it’s a pretty good one.”
He added that he had spoken to the Raiders front office about acquiring Rodgers. “A million percent,” Adams said. “A hundred percent, that’s exactly what I’m trying to portray. It’s a lot of conversations to be had still in the near future. We’ll see what happens but that’s obviously something that I would go in there and talk about.”
It’s ironic to watch Adams try to recruit Rodgers to the Raiders. He was so eager to leave Rodgers and the great chemistry they had together in Green Bay to be with Carr and join the Raiders. That blew up in his face as the Raiders lost 11 games and Carr was benched and will soon be released. Now, Adams is attempting to reunite himself with Rodgers.
It would have been better for Rodgers, Adams and the Packers if the wide receiver would have re-signed with the Packers and stayed with the quarterback with whom he enjoyed such success. We’ll see in the next month or so what happens next. But ironically, Adams is now longing for what just one year ago he was so eager to leave behind. He found the grass isn’t always greener…
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