Davante Adams Explains Raiders Trade, Had a 'Sense of Helplessness' Before Jets Move

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Davante Adams said he felt a "sense of helplessness" playing for the Las Vegas Raiders last year before the Silver and Black dealt him to the New York Jets following the six-time Pro Bowler's trade request.

Adams provided a lengthy answer to a question from The Pivot Podcast's Ryan Clark, who asked: "How frustrating is it to know you're still that Davante and it being an impossibility for you to show the world?" (Clark's question begins at 12:55, and Adams' answer starts at 13:49.)

Adams said in part (beginning at 15:27): "So I started to feel like a sense of helplessness, I guess you could say, where typically I could walk around warmups and feel like I can own that place. Like I can see people looking at me and I can love it. Like that type of attention...the DC for the Raiders (Patrick Graham) used to slap my hand in warmups every day and say, 'Box office. They came to see you.'

"And when he say that, that would get my blood bro going to the point where I was like, 'I need to go sit down somewhere.' You know what I'm saying? That's my whole mindset, like I just want to be me until (God) decided, not anybody else."

In essence, Clark told Adams he saw that he wasn't getting the ball despite him finding himself open even while he was facing double teams sometimes. He also gave Adams credit for not expressing public frustration on the matter.

Adams acknowledged Clark's remarks and said that the "main reason why" he wanted to leave Las Vegas was because he was unable to showcase his true talents. He also noted how thrilled he was to play for the Raiders given that he was from the Bay Area (East Palo Alto, California). When Adams was growing up, the Raiders were entrenched in Oakland, but they moved to Vegas in 2020.

However, it didn't work out. Adams had a great first season (2022) with his old Fresno State teammate, Derek Carr, at quarterback, catching 100 passes for 1,516 yards and 14 touchdowns. It was a great start for the ex-Green Bay Packer, who spent his first eight seasons in Wisconsin before being dealt to Las Vegas in a blockbuster March 2022 trade.

However, the Raiders experienced serious QB issues in 2023, and Adams' production suffered. He still caught over 100 passes (103), but his yardage (1,144) and touchdown numbers (eight) went down significantly.

Las Vegas started with offseason acquisition Jimmy Garoppolo, but he played just six games before being benched. Head coach Josh McDaniels was later fired after eight weeks in his second season. The Raiders finished well in the second half (5-4) under new QB Aidan O'Connell, although the Raiders still had a bottom-10 passing game for the year.

The 2024 season began with Gardner Minshew II at QB. The pass game still took its lumps. Adams had one solid game in Week 2 (nine catches for 110 yards and one touchdown) but was unusually pedestrian (by his lofty standards) in Weeks 1 and 3 (nine catches for 99 yards on 15 targets).

Adams' last game for the Raiders was on Sept. 22, 2024. He was soon listed as week-to-week with a hamstring injury. Adams soon found himself on the Jets, reunited with his old Green Bay Packers teammate, quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

New York struggled to a 5-12 season, but Adams enjoyed more success, catching 67 passes for 854 yards and seven scores.

Now Adams is a Ram, where he'll catch passes from Matt Stafford, who has 59,809 yards and 377 touchdowns to his name. On paper, it looks like the 32-year-old Adams could truly hit his potential, especially with super-talented wideout Puka Nacua drawing attention and causing havoc for pass defenses as well.