One of the odd turns of the Raiders’ season has not so much been the fact that star receiver Davante Adams began looking for a trade out of town less than a month into the season. No, the odd thing is that Adams not only took a turn on the organization as a whole, but on coach Antonio Pierce specifically.
A little less than a year ago, remember, Adams was one of the staunchest defenders of Pierce that you’d find. The Raiders had fired Josh McDaniels thanks, in large part to the players in general—most of whom had little but disdain for McDaniels—but in a large part thanks to Adams specifically.
Adams was one of the spearheads of the group of star players, with Maxx Crosby and Josh Jacobs, among others, who told Mark Davis they wanted Pierce to take over the team after McDaniels was fired. Pierce did so on an interim basis, and was given the job on a full-time basis thereafter.
Now, with Adams asking to be shipped out of Las Vegas, is he not being asked to be shipped out of a team for which he helped picked the coach?
With that in mind, Pierce was asked on Monday if he could pinpoint when, exactly, things went South with Adams.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Gotta ask Davante that.”
More relevant to Raiders fans, of course, is where things stand with an Adams trade.
For that, Pierce had a succinct message: “Status quo.”
Davante Adams Had Antonio Pierce’s Back … Last Year
Indeed, there does seem to be a personal aspect to the notion of a trade of Adams out of Las Vegas. While it is not new for star players to ask out of moribund situations—and the Raiders offense is nothing if not moribund—Pierce seemed to gain the trust of the Raiders’ players top brass last season. Adams was vocal in his support of the Raiders keeping Pierce as coach.
The Raiders were 3-5 when Pierce took over on Halloween of 2023, and finished 8-9 on the year, within a win of being in the AFC playoff mix. Adams spoke openly about his appreciation of the way Pierce treated players with honesty and an upfront demeanor.
“(Pierce had) a certain — ‘I can get behind this dude,’” Adams said in May. “I wasn’t in my mind thinking he was going to be the interim. I can definitely f*** with AP because he’s a stand-up dude, not afraid to tell it like it is, and he’ll get up there and empower his players too. That’s the biggest part that I love.”
Raiders Relationship Not Helped By Instagram ‘Like’
But last week, a bizarre social-media twist Pierce liked an Instagram post that suggested Adams would be traded. Many took that as a signal that Pierce was endorsing a trade of Adams.
Certainly, given Adams’ reduced production—18 catches and 309 yards through three games—it is not a bad idea for him to consider going elsewhere. He will be 32 years old in December and has never played in a Super Bowl. If he is going to change that, he will likely have to do somewhere other than with the Raiders.
Maybe Pierce was simply recognizing that. But Adams, even as he ignored it, addressed the subject on the “Up and Adams” podcast this month. He said he had not spoken with Pierce about the topic.
“All I can control is this talk we’re having right here,” Adams responded. “After we’re done with this, all I can control is the next thing that I’m on to. I’m going to get up in a minute and get a nice workout in, and that’s all I can control.”
