Graney: Adams excited to be at Raiders camp, has no ‘Receiver’ regrets
COSTA MESA, Calif. — Davante Adams says he’s in a good place now. That this is a fresh slate.
He’s happy to be back with his Raiders teammates at the beginning of training camp. He’s excited about the opportunity the coming season presents.
But for how long?
The last thing a team with a predicted win total of 6½ needs is any unwarranted distraction. There are too many important decisions to make. Too many folks to try and prove wrong.
Adams was in fine spirits when addressing the media Wednesday, a far cry from the at-times frustrated star who was portrayed in the Netflix series “Receiver.”
“I don’t live my life in the mindset things may get bad,” Adams said. “I have a whole new mentality. I didn’t come into last year in a bad place. It was just the way the cookie crumbled.
“What you saw was raw emotion and a genuine look at what we were going through. It wasn’t always the brightest point.”
A television show
Adams had issues with the quarterback play. Major ones. He had specific issues with Jimmy Garoppolo’s inconsistencies.
One scene showed him upset with certain throws and the accuracy of the team’s quarterbacks. He said he had to “get the (expletive) out of here before I lose my (expletive) life.”
It all led to Antonio Pierce, in his first game as interim coach, naming Aidan O’Connell the Raiders’ starter. It was a decision Adams said on the show he signed off on.
“It’s a television show, at the end of the day,” Adams said. “There are going to be certain narratives. Not that it wasn’t accurate. It was very accurate. But I’m happy to be out there with the guys now, happy to watch Gardner (Minshew) and Aidan go at it and put their best tape out there together and battle each other.”
It’s one off those major choices that needs to be made, who between Minshew and O’Connell will get the nod as starter.
Fact: It will be vital for whichever is chosen to be on the same page with Adams. There can’t be a repeat of last season. Nobody wins there. You can’t overstate the importance of having chemistry with one of the NFL’s finest receivers. You saw what happened when there wasn’t.
And there are no guarantees. Minshew and O’Connell are battling because neither has separated from the other. There are far more questions than answers about the team’s quarterback play. Nothing about it is drawing rave reviews at this point.
“Aidan versus Aidan, Gardner versus Gardner, me versus me,” Adams said. “That’s how it is on this stage.”
He does seem happy. His agents quickly and strongly denied rumors of Adams possibly being traded July 16. He and his wife are about to welcome their third child and first son.
Adams talks a lot about the Raiders starting fast. About not digging themselves a hole in the standings and having to climb out of it at the end of their schedule. He wants teammates to lock in now and challenge each other and come out flying the first quarter of the season. He said all the right things Wednesday.
Especially when it came to the Netflix series.
Sticking to decision
Is he glad to have been portrayed in “Receiver”?
Was it worth it?
“One hundred percent,” Adams said. “Any decision I make, I’m going to stick by it. I don’t live my life in hindsight. (The show) was a good deal. It was really non-invasive. It’s not my style to have a camera crew following me around like that and the way they showed, it looks like that. But it was really low-key. It was a good experience.”
He’s in a good place right now, having wiped the slate clean. Happy to be back with his teammates at training camp.
The Raiders need to hope things remain this way.
A content Adams means things are going well on the field.
We’ve seen his frustration when they’re not. And that’s not good for anyone.
Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on X.