Davante Adams

Dave Helman sits down and reacts to comments that Las Vegas Raiders WR Davante Adams made after the loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers and debates what this means for Adams' future with the Raiders.

Xavier McKinney wants Adams back in Green Bay

It turns out that not being told anything different yesterday didn't actually mean much. Pierce, who went 5-4 as an interim coach last year, went 4-13 in 2024 with a roster that had almost no offensive upside. The little it did have walked out the door midseason when the team parted with Davante Adams in a trade to the Jets. Pierce was often bafflingly conservative as a game manager, giving Daniel Carlson 40 field-goal opportunities, and spoke after the season about not trusting his gut when it came to starting Aidan O'Connell over Gardner Minshew. The Raiders got a little scrappier after installing Scott Turner at offensive coordinator after the bye, but ultimately neither side of the ball played above their meager talent levels. It's not Pierce's fault the Raiders weren't a winner, the seeds of that were sewn several years ago. But he clearly wasn't elevating them either. Pierce's future is an open question at this point as the NCAA has banned him from coaching through the year 2032 as part of a show-cause penalty against Arizona State. He may resurface as a defensive coordinator or, more likely, a linebackers coach on an NFL staff.

Adams caught six of 12 targets for 88 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 32-20 win over the Dolphins. He finishes the season with 85 catches for 1,063 yards and eight touchdowns in 14 games split between the Raiders (three) and Jets (11).

With Aaron Rodgers back for the 2024 campaign, Lazard returned to his old form after a down 2023 in which he caught 23 passes for 311 yards and one touchdown. Lazard caught 37 passes for 530 yards and six touchdowns this season and looked to be on pace for a career year through the first six games (26-354-5) before a trade for Davante Adams following a Week 6 loss to the Bills derailed him. Nearly all of Lazard's production for his career has come with Rodgers under center, making it hard to buy into his upside in what may be a post-Rodgers season. He remains under contract with the Jets through 2026 but can be cut for a $2.184 dead cap hit after June 1st. Lazard has an $11 million base salary he's set to earn in each of the next two seasons. It wouldn't be surprising if the Jets opted to move on from him when it's financially convenient to do so.