Derek Carr and Davante Adams ended their decorated collegiate careers in disappointing fashion when USC blew out their Fresno State team in the 2013 Las Vegas Bowl.
Other key acquisitions
• Chandler Jones, defensive end: The 32-year-old Jones sits 25th all-time in the NFL record book with 107.5 sacks during 10 seasons split between the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals. The Raiders signed him to a three-year, $51 million contract to start free agency, in part because of his strong relationship with new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, dating back to their time with the Patriots. Between Adams and Jones, Las Vegas added two likely future Hall of Famers this offseason.
• Rock Ya-Sin, cornerback: In order to make room for Jones, the Raiders traded away last year’s team captain/star edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for Ya-Sin. The 25-year-old has started games in each of the last three seasons with solid, albeit inconsistent, results after being taken in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Temple.
• Bilal Nichols, defensive tackle: The Raiders signed the former Chicago Bear to a two-year, $11 million contract. The 25-year-old, four-year veteran will most likely be the lone starting interior linemen in the Raiders’ new base defense, between a pair of All-Pro edge rushers in Jones and Maxx Crosby.
Little did the quarterback/wide receiver duo know back then that, nearly a decade later, they’d have a chance to reunite in Las Vegas for what could be the brightest stretch of their time as professional athletes. The Raiders’ trade with the Green Bay Packers for Adams—in exchange for their first two picks in the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft—makes it possible.
Expecting the Adams-Carr reunion to push both players’ production to another level, as they once did in college, might be unrealistic, given their eight combined Pro Bowl nods (five for Adams, three for Carr). And yet, both Carr and Adams’ success has always come with caveats.
Carr’s sterling statistics have often been glossed over because of his 57-70 win-loss record as a starter and lack of a playoff victory. Adams has received more respect, earning consensus recognition as the NFL’s best receiver the past two seasons, but many wonder what his numbers might look like without back-to-back defending MVP winner Aaron Rodgers as his quarterback.
Both Carr and Adams have the chance to put those questions to rest next season at Allegiant Stadium, the $2 billion venue that was three years away from even being an idea when the two last played together at Sam Boyd Stadium.
The trade for Adams marks one of the biggest moves in Raiders franchise history and makes for quite the welcoming gift to fans from new general manager Dave Ziegler and coach Josh McDaniels. It could help them keep pace in an AFC West that many are already calling the toughest division ever assembled in the NFL.
All three teams chasing the Kansas City Chiefs, who have won the division for six straight years, upgraded massively this offseason. The Raiders were the last to do so, following in the footsteps of the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers.
Denver traded a pair of first- and second-round picks and a package of players to the Seattle Seahawks for former Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson. LA went on a spending spree to upgrade a defense that faded last season, acquiring former Raiders Defensive Player of the Year Khalil Mack, among others.
Now, there’s an argument to be made that the Raiders bested both of those rivals, assuming the connection between Carr and Adams proves as powerful as the two have described over the years. They’ve called each another best friends and publicly expressed interest in playing together again.
Comparing receivers to Adams in training camp has become the de facto free square on the Carr bingo card in recent years.
Carr has said tight end Darren Waller had the best game-breaking ability of anyone with whom he had played since Adams. He said his relationship with slot receiver Hunter Renfrow was the strongest of anyone since Adams. And he compared No. 2 receiver Bryan Edwards’ ball skills and physicality to Adams’.
Defenders of Carr’s losing record have often cited that he’s rarely had a great arsenal of weapons around him, if ever. His brother and former NFL quarterback David Carr drew the ire of Raiders owner Mark Davis this offseason when he told NFL Network, “There has to be a commitment from the organization that they’re going to give him what he needs to succeed.”
Now, there can be no insinuations that Carr’s shortcomings fall on the Raiders, considering the team acquired the quarterback’s dream target to top a group that will still include the aforementioned receiving trio.
Upon acquiring Adams from Green Bay, Las Vegas signed him to the richest contract for a receiver in NFL history, a five-year, $140 million deal with $67.5 million guaranteed. An extension for Carr, who’s going into the final year of his current deal, seems sure to follow.
Locking up that duo reflects the Raiders’ commitment to build on the success of last season, when they made the playoffs and narrowly fell to the eventual AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals in the first round. Carr and Adams will play the largest role in determining whether Las Vegas returns to the postseason, and it shouldn’t hurt that they’ll have something to prove from a personal perspective, too.
