Raiders Expected to Be Without Star WR Davante Adams vs. Steelers
Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams (hamstring) is not expected to play on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. It will be the third consecutive game missed for Adams, who’s in the midst of a trade request.
With Adams expected to be out, the Raiders will rely on a wide receiver corps that features Jakobi Meyers, D.J. Turner and Tre Tucker. Not necessarily household names. Rookie tight end Brock Bowers has been impressive, though. He had a 57-yard touchdown in the Radiers’ loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
The Steelers have been in contact with the Raiders about trading for Adams, according to multiple media reports and confirmed by Steelers Now. If the Raiders and Steelers happen to strike a deal, it only makes sense that it won’t be until after Sunday’s game.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Adams prefers to play for the New York Jets or New Orleans Saints due to his past connections with quarterback Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay and quarterback Derek Carr in college at Fresno State.
Adams, who turns 32 in December, is a six-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time first-team All-Pro. Adams was teammates with Rodgers in Green Bay for the first eight years of his NFL career. Reuniting with Rodgers in New York seems like the most logical case.
“I’ll answer like this, if I’m going to be reunited with anybody, it would be Aaron, okay? But or be, you know, relocated, and be anywhere it would be with Aaron,” Adams said on Shannon Sharpe’s podcast in July.
“There was a lot of that stuff going on last year in the media and them asking, you know, ‘What are you going to do about this? Are you thinking about going here?’ and they talk about whatever without me even being involved in [the conversation]. And it ended up getting all the way to the point where it got in the locker room, and people was thinking that it was, you know, I was putting it out there to force (a trade). And I’m like, ‘Y’all just don’t understand man.’ You know, I hate to say it like this because it makes me sound like I’m trying to put myself on a pedestal..but when you’re the level, a certain level of player, it don’t have to come from you. And most of the time it’s not coming from you.”
Adams won’t be the only star Raider out for Sunday’s game, as defensive tackle Christian Wilkins is undergoing surgery to repair a Jones fracture he suffered in Sunday’s loss to the Broncos and will be out indefinitely. He’ll be placed on injured reserve, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Wilkins, who signed a lucrative four-year, $110 million deal with the Raiders this offseason after leaving the Miami Dolphins, is a massive loss for Las Vegas in the interior. He recorded 17 tackles, two sacks, two tackles for loss, and six quarterback hits in 4.5 games this season. Adam Butler is expected to replaced Wilkins at DT.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin praised Wilkins for being a game-wrecker during his weekly press conference on Tuesday.
“And then Christian Wilkins, they picked up in free agency from the Dolphins is somebody that’s new to them that’s really talented. He’s got a well-rounded game,” Tomlin said. “He’s disruptive in the run. He’s disruptive in the interior in terms of passing. Looks like he’s really catching his stride over the last two and a half weeks or so, in terms of his disruption, negativity that he’s creating in his playmaking.”
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