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Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff Writer
HENDERSON, Nev. — Raiders coach Antonio Pierce, in the wake of Tuesday’s trade that sent three-time All-Pro receiver Davante Adams to the New York Jets, said it was “business as usual” for Las Vegas and did not see the move as part of a “rebuild.”
“Next man up, move on,” Pierce said Wednesday, when asked the message he gave to his team. “He was out for the last [three] weeks, so we’re fine. … That’s how we’ve been really operating the last couple weeks.
“You never replace an All-Pro receiver like Davante. But at the end of the day, we’re not trying to. We’re trying to be the best versions of ourselves.”
Adams missed the Raiders’ previous three games with a purported hamstring injury and requested a trade on Sept. 30, the day after Las Vegas beat the Cleveland Browns with Adams cheering on from the sidelines to even their record at 2-2.
The Raiders have lost their past two games, though, at the Denver Broncos and at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers, by a combined score of 66-31, as Adams remained away from the team. Adams, acquired by the Raiders in a blockbuster trade with the Green Bay Packers in 2022, had 18 catches for 209 yards and a TD in three games this season.
His hamstring no longer an issue — and reunited with his old Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers — Adams is expected to play for the Jets on Sunday night at Pittsburgh.
Las Vegas’ locker room was anything but distressed Wednesday.
“It’s like a period on a weird situation,” said receiver Jakobi Meyers, who moves into the WR1 role vacated by Adams, even as he deals with an ankle injury that kept him out of the loss to the Steelers.
“Instead of a comma or a dot, dot, dot. Whatever you call that.”
An ellipsis?
“There we go, man,” Meyers laughed. “But yeah, at least now we know what we’re working with. Hopefully, everybody’s happy and we can just make plays with what we’ve got.”
Rookie tight end Brock Bowers, who leads Las Vegas with 37 catches for 384 yards, said the vibe is “a little bit different” now.
“Just missing that piece,” Bowers said. “But we’ve got other dudes here that are going to pull through, hopefully. And we’ve got to get healed up a little bit with Jakobi and stuff, and we’re on the right track.”
Adams took a shine to Bowers in the offseason, referring to the solemn rookie as “Mr. Businessman” during workouts.
“I mean, we were always cool,” Bowers said. “We’re obviously a little different because of the age gap and stuff, so we didn’t get to chatting too much, but we were cool and we talked about football and stuff.”
Defensively, the Raiders said they will miss going against Adams in practice. Even if he missed just as much time as he was available during the regular season.
“At least now we know what we’re working with. Hopefully, everybody’s happy and we can just make plays with what we’ve got.”
Raiders WR Jakobi Meyers
“That will be work I will miss, but I’ll be straight,” said cornerback Jack Jones. “We’ve still got some good receivers to go against in practice.”
Three-time Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby said he will miss Adams.
“Davante is my boy,” Crosby said. “I love him to death. It’s really all I can say. You know, that’s my guy but … I’m focused on who’s here now.”
Heading into training camp, it was assumed by many observers that Adams would be traded if the Raiders got off to a slow start.
Crosby was asked whether the storylines around Adams were a distraction.
“I mean, I don’t know,” Crosby said. “I feel like it just depends on how much you put into it.
“I see a million things about me all the time, and I don’t know if you can consider that a distraction or not. It’s all just s— people make up a majority of the time. So at the end of the day, I just wish them the best. Like I said, I’m just worried about the guys that are here and winning football games.”