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Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff Writer
HENDERSON, Nev. — The Las Vegas Raiders have informed other NFL teams they would “consider” trading three-time All-Pro receiver Davante Adams for a package that would include a second-round round draft pick and additional compensation, league sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Tuesday.
Adams, acquired by the Raiders in a blockbuster trade with the Green Bay Packers for first- and second-round draft picks on March 17, 2022, missed his first game as a member of the Raiders on Sunday with a hamstring injury suffered in practice on Thursday.
He was on the sidelines for the Raiders’ 20-16 win over the Cleveland Browns and celebrated fellow receiver D.J. Turner’s first career touchdown.
Earlier Tuesday, Adams appeared on the “Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams” and was asked about Raiders coach Antonio Pierce’s verified Instagram account liking a post from Sports Illustrated wondering if Adams had played his final game with Las Vegas. The like was later removed.
“I haven’t heard from him. I haven’t talked to him,” Davante Adams said when asked if he’s heard from Pierce. “… Social media is a beast so it’s a lot of people out there that saw it and wondering what’s going on and reaching out.”
Told by Kay Adams that a lot of people think he has played his last down with the Raiders, Davante Adams said, “All I can control is this talk we’re having right here and after we’re done with this all I can control is the next thing that I’m on to.”
Earlier this offseason, with so many rumors linking him to his former Packers quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, now with the New York Jets, Adams’ agents Kenny Chapman and Frank Bauer disputed the speculation, calling it “baseless” and “unfounded.”
Neither Bauer, Adams, Pierce nor Raiders general manager Tom Telesco replied to messages Tuesday. Pierce and Adams, though, are scheduled to meet with local media Wednesday.
Adams’ salary for this season is $17.5 million, with $13.5 million still owed through the end of the season. And while he is under contract for 2025 and 2026, his annual salary jumps to $36.25 million for each of those seasons.
With such a hefty price tag, a trade partner would likely have to get Adams to agree to a restructured contract.
Adams, 31, created a bit of a stir in the Raiders building this offseason with several of his comments on the Netflix series “Receiver.”
During a sideline venting session in a Week 6 game against the New England Patriots, a game in which Adams was hit repeatedly, Adams said, “I gotta get the f— outta here before I lose my f—ing life. I ain’t never been hit this many f—ing times in my career. Every game, I get f—ed up.” While the comments themselves grabbed attention, the fact that Adams, as a willing participant in the series, allowed them to be aired is what raised eyebrows.
“I watched pieces of it, but there’s nothing to talk about,” Pierce said at the start of training camp. “Davante signed up for the show, there were things said and shown and it is what it is. You can’t erase it.”
Adams then missed the final two weeks of camp to return home for the birth of his son. And after Adams said he would prefer to not play in the preseason and Pierce said all starters would suit up for the Raiders’ exhibition finale, Adams was “sore” after an “awkward movement” in practice that kept him sidelined.
Sitting out the Browns game marked the first regular season game Adams had missed since 2021, with the Packers.
Adams, who agreed to the trade to the Raiders partly to reunite with his college quarterback at Fresno State, Derek Carr, only played one year with him in Las Vegas as Carr was released in the spring of 2023.
Since then, Adams, who had really only had two quarterbacks since high school in Carr and Rodgers, has caught passes from Jarrett Stidham, Jimmy Garoppolo, Brian Hoyer, Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew.
Adams has 18 catches for 209 yards and a touchdown through three games this season. He has 221 catches for 2,869 yards and 23 touchdowns in 37 games with Las Vegas.