Davante Adams' dream pairing with his old college pal evaporated in less than a full season.
What was once a reunion with Derek Carr gradually became a trudge toward a hopeless end to 2022 for the Raiders, complete with the quarterback's benching in favor of Jarrett Stidham and departure from the team in early 2023. Adams remains in Las Vegas, picking up the pieces from the split while being handsomely paid to do what he's always done best: catch passes.
He'll have a new quarterback throwing to him in Jimmy Garoppolo this season, but as Adams recently told The Ringer's Mirin Fader, in his opinion, the passer doesn't matter. His first-team All-Pro nod earned in 2022 proved this.
"It proved that I am me," Adams said. "A quarterback doesn't make me. ... I make me. And I can do it consistently at this level.
"That's why [last] season meant a lot. Even if I went and played like dog s--- next year, they can't say it. Because now I've already proved it throughout the course of a season, played every game, and put together a résumé that says I do not need. ... You can erase all the numbers. You can just write in: He didn't need Aaron Rodgers."
Because of Las Vegas' overall struggles to field a competitive team in 2022, Adams' 1,516-yard, 14-touchdown season didn't make nearly as much noise as the numbers would suggest. Adams led the league in touchdown receptions, yet most everyone overlooked his production in favor of highlighting the performances of Philadelphia's A.J. Brown, Buffalo's Stefon Diggs and others.
Add in Carr's late-season benching, and Adams' first season with the Raiders unfairly landed with little more than a thud, at least in terms of perception. Adams admitted that while he's largely become numb to the emotional impact of player movement, Carr's benching and departure was "a little bit different when it's one of your good friends."
That move and the disappointment of 2022 has left Adams feeling rather uncertain about the Raiders' future. He doesn't necessarily agree with the decisions general manager Dave Ziegler and head coach Josh McDaniels have made to this point, telling The Ringer "we don't see eye to eye on what we think is best for us right now," but knows he's already signed up for whatever is ahead.
"I'm going to have to buy into this and try to be as optimistic as possible," Adams said. "It's not what I expected to happen, but it's something that's the reality now."
Reality is running routes for Garoppolo in McDaniels' offense in 2023. Adams already has the most important All-Pro nod under his belt, proving the point that he wasn't just the product of playing with a legendary QB in Green Bay.
What's next, though, is paramount. Adams acknowledged he's "closer to the end than I am the beginning," and feels a sense of urgency to produce while he's still capable.
"Me not being mentioned as the best receiver in the league, it frightens me," Adams said. "It gives me a certain hunger to keep going."
That will mean fitting into McDaniels' system and quickly establishing a rapport with Garoppolo, who already understands McDaniels' style from their time spent together in New England. Adams will have to get up to speed quickly in order to maintain his elite level of production. If he can accomplish this, he believes the Raiders can still win at a high level.
If not, Adams bluntly admitted the results might not be ideal.
"It all depends on the style of ball that we play," Adams says. "If we play a certain brand of ball, I can get [Garoppolo] to conform to whatever. But if we use him a certain type of way, then it's going to make it tough for us to maximize who we should be this year."
Winning is goal No. 1, the most important goal and perhaps the only goal. Adams didn't move west just to get paid.
As he told Fader, "It wasn't just to go get the biggest bag. It was about going somewhere where I felt like I could really enjoy the end of my career and go somewhere that my family would enjoy."
The weather and the money sure are nice. Winning, though, would be better.
"My goal is to win a Super Bowl with this team. And that's why I didn't come here to just be cute with Derek," he said. "It is to really try and have a shot and change this organization."
