Another day, another blockbuster trade in the NFL. The Green Bay Packers agreed to trade superstar receiver Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders. Adams will reunite with his college quarterback and great friend Derek Carr. Adams is coming off a season for the Packers where he caught a career high 123 passes for 1,553 yards and 11 touchdowns.
This move now leaves Aaron Rodgers with no true number one receiver and the guys he was relying on to be complimentary pieces (MVS and Lazard) will have to step up big time if both remain on the team. Lazard was a decent second option at receiver for Green Bay last year with 513 yards and eight touchdowns. Marquez Valdes-Scantling (who is set to hit the open market) has shown flashes of being good, or maybe even a great NFL player. However, nobody outside of Adams was consistently reliable for Rodgers in the playoffs and now with Adams gone, Green Bay must be prepared to go after some free agent wide receivers. Some of the names that are currently available are Julio Jones and Jarvis Landry. Although Aaron Rodgers has an impressive track record without Adams, life will certainly be difficult for Rodgers next year as he will see what it is like to go a whole season without having the luxury of throwing to Adams.
Meanwhile in Vegas, Davante Adams is going to do wonders for Derek Carr. Carr had a tremendous season for the Raiders last year considering all he had to deal with in terms of personnel changes from the players to the coaches. Now, Carr gets a dependable #1 receiver to go along with stud tight end Darren Waller and Josh Jacobs at running back. The Raiders also reached an agreement with Maxx Crosby to keep him in Las Vegas and also signed star pass rusher Chandler Jones.
Adams and Carr are already very familiar with each other from their days at Fresno State together and now will try to lead a Raiders team to compete in what will be a very competitive AFC West. Many Raiders fans questioned the lack of urgency in free agency by the team, but as it turns out, they were just preparing to acquire one of the best players in the NFL in Davante Adams.