It’s been very eventful for the Las Vegas Raiders so far. A lot of speculation is circulating, particularly about new minority owner Tom Brady, star pass-rusher Maxx Crosby, and the now jettisoned Davante Adams.
What will Tom Brady’s role be with the Raiders moving forward?
There’s often no way to tell what Mark Davis is going to do. He keeps his circle small, though this Brady move hasn’t exactly been a state secret. This move has been in the works for a long time, and Davis himself has never been shy about trying to bring Brady on board. Considering that Brady is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, can we blame Davis for wanting some of that juju for his Raiders?
The question is now, what will his contributions actually be?
While speaking with Jim Rome, Raiders legend Marcel Reece spoke on what he believes Brady will do for the Silver and Black.
“I think that Tom is going to be able to be as hands-on as Tom wants to be. Mark doesn’t want figureheads. He doesn’t need figureheads. What he wants and desires is success, especially right now, even in the immediate. Who better to evaluate any quarterback than the greatest quarterback to ever play the game.”
More so than the status of head coach Antonio Pierce moving forward, it’s the quarterback position that has Raider Nation concerned. For all intents and purposes, we all know who Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell are—solid backup signal-callers. In that regard, Reece is right; Brady’s potential counsel in finding the quarterback of the future could prove to be invaluable.
Speaking of the future, let’s talk about No. 98, shall we?
There’s no way that Maxx Crosby gets traded, right?
We all once thought that a trade involving Davante Adams was unfathomable, but here we are. I’ll tell you what; we will circle back to this. For now, what does the future hold for arguably the greatest Raiders player of this decade?
If there’s one thing that the Adams debacle has shown, it’s that anyone can be shipped off. All of his accolades and stats aside, you could obviously make the argument that the Raiders have largely failed Crosby. However, all indications point to a potential “rebuild” in which the Raiders could fire their coaching staff at the end of the season if the situation worsens. Well, Crosby spoke about this notion and what he wants to do as the team prepares for the Los Angeles Rams.
“I don’t believe in, you know, I’m not here to rebuild, I’m here to win, so, you know, I don’t know whatever that means. I’m here to win now, and wherever I’m gonna be, I’m, you know, I’m gonna be here to win, so that’s all that matters to me.”
This situation is something worth monitoring. Again, if the Raiders continue to lose, can we truly rule out Crosby reaching his breaking point? Then again, we all know the relationship between Davis and Crosby is a tight one, with the owner holding his franchise player in high regard. Maybe a difficult conversation needs to be had between them, or then again, there’s much football to be played this season. We know that Crosby isn’t in this for the sake of “tanking.”
So, regarding Adams.
Did Davante Adams act “disingenuous” toward the Raiders?
Raiders Beat reporter Vic Tafur of The Athletic made some notable observations about how Adams acted toward the end of his tenure. Indeed, the manner in which the wideout exited the team raised concerns, evoking memories of the Randy Moss era in Raider Nation.
Tafur pointed to Adams essentially quitting on the Silver and Black despite a 2-2 start on the Just Win Podcast. He then points to his appearance on the Up and Adams Show where No. 17 made light of Pierce and the Instagram fiasco; the same appearance where he stated he hadn’t spoken to Pierce. As Tafur noted below, it was obvious that Adams had already requested a trade prior to that statement.
“When you quit on your team on a Victory Monday, I think that’s a really rare and weird thing. The team is 2-2, I think that’s an odd time to go into Pierce’s office and say, ‘I can’t be here.’ Then my bigger problem really is the next day, he goes on the Up and Adams Show and kind of points the finger at Antonio Pierce saying with the Instagram post and saying we haven’t talked, and I don’t know what that’s about when clearly, he knew he asked for a trade the day before. To me, it was pretty disingenuous of him. I just think some fans say he quit on the team, and I can’t disagree with that.”
Essentially, Adams quit the team. Will that ultimately be the legacy of his Raiders tenure?
*Top Photo: Getty Images
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