Raiders star Davante Adams was forced to clarify the comments he made about his quarterback, Derek Carr, in which he called the Las Vegas signal caller a “Hall of Famer.”
On Sunday, reporters asked Adams, 29, to expand on his comments, to which the Pro Bowl wideout cheekily said, “I was waiting for this. Oh, God, I was waiting for this.”
Adams went on to say: “What I meant to say was, even if you go Hall of Famer to Hall of Famer, it’s an adjustment. Even if it is Hall of Famer to Hall of Famer, there’s going to be an adjustment. I wasn’t saying Hall of Famer Aaron to Hall of Famer Derek. So I’m not retracting my statement at all.”
Adams raised eyebrows on Friday when discussing the transition from Aaron Rodgers, whom he caught passes from for eight seasons with the Packers, to Carr, his college quarterback at Fresno State and his current QB after the blockbuster trade that sent him to Las Vegas in March.
“Any time you change quarterbacks from Hall of Famer to Hall of Famer … it’s going to be a little bit of an adjustment,” Adams said, prompting skepticism as many thought he was penciling Carr in as a Hall of Famer.
It appears Adams simply misspoke, or at least is claiming to have done so after the fact.
“I didn’t deliver that message the way I had it in my head,” Adams said. “I did not mean to say exactly that.”
Rodgers, a four-time NFL MVP and Super Bowl champion, would essentially be locked into the Hall of Fame even if he doesn’t play another snap in the league. Carr, while having strung together a number of strong seasons with the Raiders, certainly appears to be on the outside looking in at this point in his career.
Carr is still only 31, however, and has plenty of time to build his case. Acquiring Adams as his No. 1 wideout should help, a bona fide star whom he already has chemistry with from their time in college. The two are good friends off the field, and had made it known they would like to play together before the trade was completed.
After acquiring Adams and star pass rusher Chandler Jones, as well as hiring Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to be head coach, the Raiders are expected to compete in a loaded AFC West. The Packers, meanwhile, have a lot of question marks among their pass-catching group after watching Adams leave town, but are still expected to cruise in a weaker NFC North.