Raiders: Josh McDaniels takes the high road after Davante Adams' front office comments
Las Vegas Raiders head coach isn’t letting Davante Adams’ comments get to him.
The dust hasn't settled on star receiver Davante Adams' comments regarding the front office, but Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels is already choosing to take the high road.
What could have turned into a petty beef was seemingly squashed on Thursday after McDaniels backed up Adams when he spoke to the press at OTAs. Last week, Adams explained that he wasn't satisfied with the direction the front office had taken. When McDaniels was asked about the comments, the coach essentially said Adams has the pedigree and career resume to freely voice his opinion, even when it isn't savory.
"I respect the hell out of anything that [he] would say or suggest or anything like that," McDaniels said. "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' comments stem from the sentiment that he and the front office don't see eye-to-eye on everything. But that is to be expected. No player-front office relationship is perfect. And to add context, the Raiders did recently move on from long-time starter and Adams' friend Derek Carr, whom the six-time Pro Bowler was excited to play with when he first arrived in Las Vegas.
McDaniels, not a rookie when it comes to managing star wide receiver's egos, explained that seeing eye-to-eye on every decision is difficult, but paramount is adequate communication between both parties.
"Those things happen, I'd say, all the time where somebody may have a question or a comment or a discussion is had, and those are the right things to do, and those players have earned it," McDaniels said. "And so, I have nothing but respect for anybody like that, that has a comment or an opinion like that.
"It's not really my concern that anybody necessarily adopts every vision that Dave or I have for the decisions that we have to make. Sometimes those are difficult."
Replacing Carr is Jimmy Garoppolo. The Raiders signed the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback to a three-year, $72.75 million free-agent contract. It was also reported Thursday that Garoppolo is still recovering from a foot injury that required surgery.
There were rumors regarding the Raiders trading Adams. But to this point, no reports indicate a trade is imminent. And judging by McDaniels' most recent comments, it appears that the Raiders are willing to take the high road on their star receiver's dissatisfaction.
