Wide receiver Davante Adams has been the subject of trade chatter at times since joining the Raiders and the prospect of him leaving Las Vegas was part of a text he received from former teammate Josh Jacobs this offseason.
Jacobs signed with the Packers as a free agent and said that he texted Adams “you thinking about coming back” along with the eyes emoji after signing with Adams’s first NFL club. Jacobs said on NFL Network more recently that he and Adams “joke around with each other a lot” while downplaying any real thought of Adams returning to Green Bay and Adams confirmed it was taken in jest even if he thinks there was some kernel of truth behind the comment.
“It was true, he did send that over,” Adams said on Up & Adams. “Josh is one of my best friends, man. He’s hilarious, people don’t know how funny he is. It was definitely a joke, but it was one of those jokes where he was serious because he would like that. I told him you go ahead and hold it down and I’m gonna hold it down over here. I don’t think I’ll be coming back over there.”
Adams then said “you never know” what could happen “if they ship me off” before saying “I’m a Raider” to close out that topic of conversation.
Future Hall of Famer Tom Brady apparently won’t be the only former Patriot to acquire a piece of the Las Vegas Raiders. A current Hall of Famer — and a Patriots player who finished his career with the Raiders — is on the brink of becoming an owner of the team, too.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Hall of Fame defensive lineman Richard Seymour is close to finalizing a deal to become an owner and limited partner of the Raiders.
If/when it becomes official, the arrangement will be the culmination of an effort that dates back to 2020, with owner Mark Davis continuing his father’s commitment to equality. It was Al Davis who was ahead of his (and the league’s) time when it comes to diversity, from hiring Tom Flores and Art Shell to coach the team to making Amy Trask the team’s president. It’s Mark Davis who initiated the effort to involve Seymour in ownership.
Seymour, we’re told, will join forces with Brady. Together (and with their own partners) they would own 10.4 percent of the team.
The combination of Seymour and Brady is expected to resolve most of the concerns about Brady’s bid. Among other things, Mark Davis originally proposed giving Brady a steep discount over market value. That didn’t fly with the other owners.
The combined Seymour-Brady bid would ideally be presented to ownership in October. Twenty-four votes are required, by rule, to approve the transaction.
Another lingering complication for Brady relates to his looming role as a broadcaster with Fox. It’s believed that parameters have been developed to address the issues that would arise from Brady, as an owner of the Raiders, being involved in meetings and attending practices involving teams that compete with the Raiders. (Whether those parameters are sufficient will depend, frankly, on what they are.)
Seymour, the sixth overall pick in the 2001 draft, won three Super Bowls in eight years with the Patriots. He was traded to the Raiders in 2009, and he made two Pro Bowls in four seasons with the Raiders.
In all, Seymour was a three-time first-team All-Pro, a two-time second-team All-Pro, and a seven-time Pro Bowler. He also was a member of the NFL’s team of the decade for the 2000s.
Seymour was involved in the process that resulted in the hiring of coach Antonio Pierce and G.M. Tom Telesco. It now makes much more sense for Seymour to have had a seat at that table; he’s about to have a seat at the ownership table.
Wide receiver Martavis Bryant isn’t thinking about ending his bid to make it back into an NFL game.
Bryant was reinstated last November from an indefinite suspension that was put in place while he was playing for the Raiders during the 2018 season. Bryant had repeated violations of the league’s substance abuse policy, but signed to the Cowboys practice squad upon being cleared to return last year.
The Cowboys signed Bryant to a future deal, but released him in May. During an appearance on Queen City News in Charlotte, Bryant, who played in the XFL in 2023, said that he still feels he can be a factor as a pro receiver.
“I got a lot of football left,” Bryant said. “Still love the game, never stopped loving the game. I had to take some time to reflect on myself and get my situation straight off the field. I did that. I put in a lot of work. There’s still so much left I can do. I know I can contribute to somebody that wants to give me the opportunity.”
Bryant said he spoke with Panthers senior assistant Jim Caldwell at a recent event, but gave no indication that there was anything brewing with the team. He worked out with the Commanders this spring.
Bryant was a 2014 fourth-round pick by the Steelers and had 126 catches for 1,917 yards and 17 touchdowns in 36 games — he was suspended for the entire 2016 season — before being traded to the Raiders.
After last year’s successful debut of Quarterback on Netflix, the producers couldn’t find enough quarterbacks for season two. So they moved to a new position.
And in compiling the roster for Receiver, a highly popular pass-catching tight end had a chance to join the fray.
Appearing on the Bussin’ with the Boys podcast, Travis Kelce said he declined the invitation to be one of the subjects of the show.
“After [Patrick Mahomes] did it, I did get asked about it,” Kelce said, via USA Today. “I’d rather just play ball, man; I’m already doing enough with the podcast and everything. I’m way over the reality shit, dude. I’m out on that shit.”
The subjects of Receiver are Justin Jefferson of the Vikings, Davante Adams of the Raiders, Amon-Ra St. Brown of the Lions, and Deebo Samuel and George Kittle of the 49ers. If Kelce had done it, there’s a good chance (given everything that happened last year), that he would have become Bruce Springsteen and the rest of the bunch would have been the E Street Band. Or maybe it would have been all about Kelce and only Kelce.
The show debuts, without Travis Kelce, on July 12.
Before the Giants decided to trade with the Panthers for edge rusher Brian Burns, they considered pursuing a couple of disruptive defensive linemen who would have been available for no compensation to their prior teams.
The first episode of the first season of offseason Hard Knocks includes footage from an early-January meeting in which the Giants ponder pursuing Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones and Dolphins defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, with the idea of pairing one of them with Dexter Lawrence.
As to Jones, director of pro scouting Chris Rossetti says this, “Future Hall of Fame player. Still game-wrecking talent. Makes football look easy at times. When he’s dialed in, playing within the scheme and he’s unblockable, it’s hard not to imagine the good things that would come with him and Dex together in the middle. They’re the two best defensive tackles in football. You watch the tape and you see Chris Jones getting double-teamed every snap, and the guy on the other just having one block. You just imagine that’s Dex with one guy on him every time. You know, the possibilities, the game-wrecking capability is there. Financially, is it possible where we’re at? You’re looking at like a $35 million cap hit next year.”
As to Wilkins, who is Lawrence’s “best friend,” Rosetti says, “I don’t think he’s a difference-making pass rusher on third down. Which is what we need opposite Dex. But a really good football player who will do well for himself.”
G.M. Joe Schoen then remarked that Dexter had texted recently to ask “what we thought” of Wilkins.
They ultimately traded for Burns, giving him a five-year, $141 million contract ($28.2 million per year) and giving up a second- and fifth-round pick to Carolina. Jones stayed put for five years and $158.75 million ($31.75 million). Wilkins went to the Raiders for four years and $110 million ($27.5 million).
Rosetti was right about the Jones cap charge. It’s $34.85 million in 2025. For 2024, however, it’s only $7.35 million.
Burns has cap charges of $15.5 million this year, $29.75 million in 2025, and $30.75 million in 2026.
Of course, the Giants could have kept the second- and fifth-round picks by signing Jones.
That said, it would have surely cost more to get Jones to leave the Chiefs. And it’s unknown whether he would have wanted to join a team that is a long way from being as good as the Chiefs have become.
Regardless, Jones and to a lesser extent Wilkins were on the Giants’ radar. And we know that because the Giants decided to open up their internal process to cameras and microphones.
After watching the first episode of offseason Hard Knocks twice, I’ve got some more thoughts about whether it makes sense to allow so much offseason candor to make its way into view. I’ll type them up later.
Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby set a career high with 14.5 sacks during the 2023 season, but he wasn’t at full strength while posting those numbers.
Crosby had surgeries on his knee and thumb after the end of the Raiders’ season and he said “it’s been a hell of an offseason” as a result of those injuries. The focus has been returning to his pre-injury form while also working on “taking that next step” as a player during the coming season.
“I was damn near limited every single day, the whole season in practice, and things like that,” Crosby said, via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com. “And I had to learn to make an adjustment because I can’t just go out there and run my knee into the ground. I had to be ready for Sunday. It made me take a step back so I could take three steps forward, and I feel like that’s what this offseason was all about — my one goal is to be the best in the world, pound for pound, and I talk about it, I’m about it, I live it every single day and whatever street I’ve got to travel to get to where I want to go, I’m going to do that. So I’m exhausting every single resource I possibly have to have the best season of my career.”
Crosby’s injuries didn’t keep him off the field as he played every game for the fifth time in his five NFL seasons and matching that durability with better health would be a step in the right direction for the Raiders’ hopes this fall.
Brian Hoyer had a front-row seat to fellow quarterback Aidan O’Connell’s rookie year with the Raiders in 2023, serving as a backup or third QB for most of the year.
The Raiders did not retain Hoyer for 2024, moving on to a QB room led by O’Connell and Gardner Minshew. But during a recent guest hosting sting on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Hoyer shared his impressions of the young quarterback as the Purdue product readies for a training camp battle to be Las Vegas’ QB1.
“Being there first-hand and watching Aidan grow, I remember him saying at the end of the year, ‘I never thought this is how this year would play out,’” Hoyer said. “At the beginning of the year, he was third on the depth chart and then he ended up finishing the entire year. And I thought to see his growth and what he was able to do as a fourth-round pick was tremendous.”
Hoyer added that he was “kind of shocked” that the Raiders didn’t consider keeping former interim offensive coordinator Bo Hardegree permanently based on the work he did with O’Connell.
"[W]hen Bo took over as offensive coordinator in the middle of the year, it took a while, but things really started to pick up,” Hoyer said. “Obviously, we had the big game against the Chargers and then finished the year on a strong note.”
It’s worth noting, however, that the Raiders also had a game they lost to the Vikings 3-0, during which the club managed just eight first downs. O’Connell also did not complete a pass after the first quarter of the team’s 20-14 victory over Kansas City on Christmas Day.
So, the Raiders turned to former Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy to handle the same duties with Las Vegas in 2024. It remains to be seen how the Raiders’ competition will shake out. But Hoyer feels like O’Connell will have a shot to end up as QB1.
“[M]aybe I’m biased,” Hoyer said, “but I think what Aidan did last year — I know he hasn’t shown it as much as Gardner Minshew has throughout his career, but I know the guys really gravitated to the way Aidan took over and his leadership as a young player.”
Bills edge rusher Von Miller began holding offseason pass rushing summits in 2017 and he hopes to see them continue after he stops playing in the NFL.
That’s why Miller had help hosting this offseason’s session. Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby and Saints defensive end Cam Jordan joined Miller in that role with Crosby seen as a long-term part of the picture since he is 27 and the other two players are in their mid-30s.
Crosby has attended the summit in past years and called it a “no-brainer” to expand his involvement.
“Every rusher’s different,” Crosby said, via Tashan Reed of TheAthletic.com. “I can’t do what Von does. Von can’t do what I do. Football and pass rush in general is an art form. We come in all shapes and sizes. It’s not like I’m sitting here worried about handing out information. I feel like you learn more as a player by teaching. . . . I can help somebody else grow, I feel like it comes back twofold.”
Miller said he hopes the involvement of Crosby and others means the plan to continue the annual meetings is “sustainable” even after he hangs up the cleats.
The Copa América soccer tournament is heading for a July 14 championship at Hard Rock Stadium, where the Dolphins play. The governing body responsible for the tournament predicts that the grass will be fine for the final game.
“We hope it is in excellent condition,” Maristela Kuhn, coordinator of the Copa América 2024 grass project, told Alanis Thames of the Associated Press on Monday. “The same condition as it was for the first match.”
The grass at Hard Rock Stadium was removed on Sunday for a July 6 concert. Installation of a new grass pitch will start on Monday, six days before the final match.
Complaints about the quality of grass have emerged from several NFL stadiums being used during the tournament, from those with artificial turf for football (Falcons and Cowboys) to those that use grass (Raiders).
The stakes will be increased dramatically in two years, when the World Cup lands at NFL venues throughout the country.
The Nevada Supreme Court has spoken. Again.
On Monday, the court rejected former Raiders coach Jon Gruden’s request for reconsideration of the ruling that ordered his claims against the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell to arbitration. Gruden’s only remaining move is to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case.
Good luck with that. Even if they take it (and they likely won’t), count on a 6-3 ruling that Gruden is required to submit the case to arbitration presided over by one of the people he has sued.
The case arises from Gruden’s forced resignation in October 2021, days after someone began leaking emails he sent to former Washington executive Bruce Allen. The emails created a groundswell for Gruden’s ouster. Gruden’s case focused on the selective weaponization of supposedly confidential emails from the investigation into the Washington franchise by someone in the fairly small universe of people who had access to the materials.
If Gruden takes the case to the Supreme Court, the effort to reach the merits of the dispute will continue to be delayed. At some point, he’ll have to take his chances before the secret, rigged, kangaroo court that the league has developed both to control the adjudication of all claims made against it by non-player employees — and more importantly to keep it all secret.
Secrecy is critical to the league. For example, even if it manages to reverse last week’s massive verdict in the Sunday Ticket class action, things came to light that the NFL would have preferred to keep in the dark.
Despite the fact that the coverage of the case by many outlets was lacking, to say the least, the truth remains that the mere act of having the dispute unfold in open court allowed anyone who bothered to notice to learn that, yes, the NFL deliberately rigged for years the pricing of Sunday Ticket, overcharging those who were willing to pay the price and depriving those who weren’t of the option to watch games other than those provided by their local CBS or Fox affiliates.
Although the league has benefited from the media’s malaise when it comes to connecting the dots for consumers, few if any of the details would have been publicly known if the league had the silver bullet of mandatory arbitration at its disposal.
In Gruden’s case, someone connected to the league office or one of its teams decided to take out Jon Gruden by handing those emails to the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Unless Gruden manages to convince a Supreme Court that is already stacked against him to undo the Nevada ruling, the public will never know the answer to that question.
Some would say we don’t have the right to know the inner workings of a private business. Others would say that, as long as that private business relies on the public at large to consume its product and to pay for its stadiums, we absolutely have a right to know.
Our right to know is enhanced by the fact that it happened during football season, necessarily undermining the integrity of the 2021 campaign by suddenly leaving one of the NFL’s 32 teams without its head coach.