Here we sit, nearly 6 months later and details are still emerging about the Davante Adams trade. In case you forgot, Green Bay traded star wide receiver Davante Adams to the Las Vegas raiders back in March. The return was a first and second round draft pick in the 2022 NFL draft. Those picks turned into LB Quay Walker and WR Christian Watson. The money that Green Bay saved from not signing Davante Adams also helped the team re-sign LB DeVondre Campbell and CB Rasul Douglas. However, details have emerged about an influence that may have impacted Adams’ decision.
Derek Carr Recruited Davante Adams:
Derek Carr admitted to ESPN that he recruited Davante Adams hard.
“Oh, man, I was egregious,” Carr told Tim Keown of ESPN.
After the Raiders fell in the playoffs to the Cincinnati Bengals, Carr called Adams. Adams contract was set to expire in the offseason. “Hey, whenever you’re ready, I’m ready. Let’s figure this thing out,” Carr told Adams, who was getting ready for the Packers’ NFC Divisional Round matchup with the San Francisco 49ers.
Isn’t this considered tampering?
Short answer is no. As Keown noted in his ESPN article, “there’s no such thing as player-to-player tampering.”. Everything that Derek Carr did was “allowed.” Carr also reportedly recruited Adams during rounds of golf and throwing sessions between the end of the season and the trade.
Either way, when you text a player to come play with you (on a different team) when that player is gearing up for the biggest game of the season to date… feels like bad form. Adams finished with 9 receptions on 11 targets for 90 yards and zero touchdowns against the Niners. Far from a “poor” performance, but we’ve seen better out of Adams in crunch time.
In Conclusion:
Look, maybe Davante Adams was going to leave no matter what. It is possible that Derek Carr had absolutely no influence on his decision. However, I feel like both of those things are unlikely, at best. Aaron Rodgers claimed to do the best he could as well to keep Davante Adams in Green Bay. However, by that time Aaron Rodgers made it clear that Adams had his mind made up. The “winner” of this trade has yet to be seen; we certainly hope it’s Green Bay.
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