Raiders' Derek Carr, Davante Adams Trade Advice Entering Fantasy Deadline

This isn't how the season was supposed to go for the Las Vegas Raiders.

After all, they are coming off a playoff appearance and added one of the best wide receivers in the league in Davante Adams during the offseason. The expectation was to challenge for the top spot in the AFC West, but they are instead 2-6 and trending in the wrong direction.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported they placed tight end Darren Waller and wide receiver Hunter Renfrow on injured reserve and provided additional context to the setbacks:

Yet trouble for the Raiders on the field could mean opportunity for fantasy football players looking to pounce.

Adams has, at times, been less than his typically stellar self this season. He posted one catch for three yards in a Week 8 loss to the New Orleans Saints, five catches for 36 yards in a Week 3 loss to the Tennessee Titans and two catches for 12 yards in a Week 2 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Perhaps fantasy football managers with Adams on their team have grown frustrated with the roller-coaster ride of a season that seems to change on a weekly basis and could be looking to make a trade.

If that is the case in your league, jump on it.

Adams' resume includes five Pro Bowls and two All-Pro selections, and he finished the 2021 season with 123 catches for 1,553 yards and 11 touchdowns. Few players in the league have a higher ceiling than him, and he has still put up monster numbers on at times.

One of those performances came in the most recent game when he tallied 10 catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns on an astounding 17 targets in a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. He figures to see even more targets with Renfrow and Waller sidelined and could reach the 1,300-yard mark for the fourth time in five years with 658 through eight games.

Fantasy players should be looking for any way possible to buy low on Adams in a trade, but more caution should be used with Carr.

While he surpassed 4,000 passing yards in each of the last four seasons, he has thrown for more than 300 yards in a game just once this year and has two games with fewer than 200 passing yards.

Now, he is losing two of his top targets for at least the next four games, so it is unrealistic to expect a drastic upward tick in production.

This may be the first time since 2017 he fails to reach the 4,000-yard mark through the air, and he isn't a running threat, either. Given the lack of rushing yards and his downturn in the passing game, look elsewhere when seeking quarterback trades.