26 May 2023 , 16:09
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Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels has defended his superstar wide receiver after he openly criticised the direction of the team.
Going into his second season, Adams will be with a new-look Raiders offense after they signed Jimmy Garoppolo, while also making a host of changes to their entire offensive depth chart.
And in an interview with The Ringer, he admitted his reservations for the upcoming season and that he might not be seeing eye-to-eye with the team.
He said: "The front office think this is the best bet for us right now to put us in a position to be urgent. We don’t see eye-to-eye on what we think is best for us right now. I’m going to have to buy into this and try to be as optimistic as possible. It’s not what I expected to happen, but it’s something that’s the reality now."
The critical quotes will have certainly annoyed those at the top at the franchise, but his head coach has actually defended him. McDaniels told ESPN said: "I respect the hell out of anything that he]would say or suggest or anything like that.
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"During the course of the process of trying to improve our team, which, I know where Davante comes from, he’s a competitor. He wants to win, and that’s really his sole focus, and that’s what he does here every day. He’s here pushing himself, pushing his teammates. He’s been a tremendous leader again this spring for our football team."
Adams had only joined the team last off-season, reuniting with his former college quarterback Derek Carr - who had been in his ninth season with the Raiders.
Adams remains arguably the best receiver in the leagueBut with much expected from the high-powered offense, Carr performed to around a league average standard, but it was not enough to see him benched for the final three games - with the team openly admitting that they didn't want him to get injured - hampering their ability to move on from him in the off-season.
After releasing him, the Raiders were linked with a host of names including Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Lamar Jackson. But when Brady retired and Rodgers made it clear he wanted to join the Jets, the Raiders surprisingly pivoted to Garoppolo - signing him on a three-year deal.
While Garoppolo has proven to be a solid quarterback throughout his career, he has shown his limitations in countless big games for the San Francisco 49ers in recent years - with it being debatable as to whether he's that much of an upgrade over Carr.
However, McDaniels had worked with Garoppolo for multiple years at the New England Patriots, with 'Jimmy G' acting as the back-up for Tom Brady through two Super Bowl wins - with the head coach potentially feeling comfortable knowing that Garoppolo will already have a hand on what he wants to run with the team.