The last 72 hours for the New York Jets had been a blur during images of their reunited quarterback and receiver duo of Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams, whom Gang Green received a conditional third-round pick through trade to the past of the Las Vegas Raiders in the future.
Rodgers was returning home after a tough 23-20 home loss against the AFC East-leading Buffalo Bills, a game in which kicker Greg Zuerlein missed two goals in the grasslands, when Adams gave him a call telling him the scoop. Once he landed his favorite goal of all time, he headed straight to his quarterback’s field, where he will remain until he unearths his own park.
“It was frustrating Monday night,” Rodgers said Wednesday. “A really sweet moment, he calls to hear his voice. Monday night or Tuesday morning because it was almost 1 o’clock. I saw him on Tuesday, yesterday, and he will stay with me for a short time, so I went direct. in some of the signs. He knows the original, from the second iteration to the third. His knowledge of the game is quite extensive. Obviously, he seems to have drunk the elixir of the fountain of youth. we watched some old stuff from 2014 when I was a rookie, and I fondly called him ‘Fat Tae’ because he was over 220 years old. [pounds]. He then took his diet and health very seriously and hit sub-210. The speed returned and he became the dynamic player he is today. “It’s been a strange but very fun 24 hours seeing my friend.”
“It’s certainly been a roller coaster,” Adams said Wednesday, via SportsNet New York. “It’s strange to say I’m happy, but obviously it was time for a change. This whole thing happened a little strangely, but at the end of the day, we’re in a better place. The Raiders are in a better place, too, and everyone can move on. It’s definitely been kind of a rollercoaster, left to right, here and there.
Adams spent his first eight NFL seasons catching passes from Rodgers as a Green Bay Packer from 2014 to 2021, and the relationship led to 68 regular-season touchdowns, the most Rodgers has thrown to any receiver in his career, now is back. -line with the Jets. Rodgers’ 68 touchdowns to Adams also rank as the third-most through a quarterback-receiver duo in age-30 week, behind Ben Roethlisberger’s Pittsburgh Steelers connection with Antonio Brown (74). and the New England Patriots/Tampa Bay. Tom Brady’s Buccaneers connection with Rob Gronkowski (90). It’s a dream come true for two of the leading players of their age.
“I turned to him and said, ‘Man, how crazy is this?'” Rodgers said Wednesday. “It’s something we joked about when we got together in the off-season, but it never seemed like a possibility or like it was going to happen. So it’s good to be around him.”
Then, sitting out three games with the Raiders due to hamstring trauma, Adams will play with Rodgers again at some point on Day 7, when New York faces Pittsburgh on “Sunday Night Football.”
“I’ll definitely be able to move forward,” Adams said Wednesday. “I feel good now, running today. We had a run and jog practice today, but I felt good running.”
Why the Jets and Raiders have the advantage after the divorce
Virtually anyone who likes football, whether as a fan, team worker or media member, would agree that the 2024 Raiders are worse off without a three-time first-team all-pro receiver in Adams. On the other hand, Adams disagrees with that premise, announcing that the past of Las Vegas offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and any quarterback being groomed in a certain future between 2023 fourth-round pick Aidan O’Connell and Officer Gardner Minshew, it might be easier without him. of the image.
“I had this talk with some of the guys, coach [Antonio Pierce] and [general manager] Tom Telesco. Sometimes I said yeah… just the usage and the way you do things and the idea of how you try to get the ball to some people, if it doesn’t work, usually a big part of the success, Aaron and I. we had was because we were on the same page. …because they [the defense] If we want to line up with the safety and try to play Cover Two, [Rodgers and I] don’t just turn it off and move on,” Adams said, via SNY.
Necessarily, the Raiders’ offensive broadcast logo was not compatible with Adams, in the receiver’s mind.
“Sometimes you have to find a way to make the play work because if you’re just looking for a single coverage for me to make a play, I’m not going to be able to make many plays over the course of a year, based on how they’re playing me. a lot of these defenses, I think some of that is: getting me to a place where I’m very familiar with this offense and the quarterback. [Rodgers] He understands how I look at the game and how I look at throwing the ball and all that stuff and sometimes he can make it easier. … Sometimes you can find it easier to call plays and execute on third down if you don’t have exotic shells and a bunch of weird stuff to look at.”
His longtime quarterback summed up the situation much more obviously.
“I think it came down to where he wanted to be, and this was at the top of his list,” Rodgers said, via SportsNet New York.
Adams ultimately credited Rodgers with creating him as a qualifier and player, noting that he will be among many popular faces from his days in Green Bay. Outside of Rodgers, those faces are offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, wide receiver Allen Lazard, offensive lineman Jake Hanson and wide receiver Malik Taylor.
“It’s great to be back, to be with my guy,” Adams told SNY. “First of all, being able to spend time with him every day again is something I place a lot of value on, just having his company. Obviously, having him as my quarterback again. He’s part of why I am who I am, and why I became the player, whether it’s the cerebral approach, the attention to detail, just learning from it and watching it operate, I feel like that has a lot to do with how I act as a player, so it’s. a good deal… There are a lot of familiar faces here, some ex-Raiders too, so it’s good.
“I’m ruthless, I hope so. That’s the plan. I’m ruthless, I want to be here. I never move anywhere hoping to find a pristine home. So that’s the hope.”
The gold of always
Between Adams, 2022 offensive rookie of the moment Garrett Wilson, running back Breece Corridor, running back Braelon Allen and tight end Tyler Conklin, Rodgers has a dozen talented playmakers at his disposal in New York. Moreover, they are still excluded from their “gold standard.”
“There’s always been this gold standard, which is this image from Sports Illustrated in 2011,” Rodgers said. “The guys in the photo, they were Jordy Nelson, Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, James Jones, Randall Cobb was our fifth as a rookie, [tight end] Jermichael Finley. That was a pretty incredible group of skill players. …That always remained the standard. This is a really good skill set as well.”
Now, both Rodgers and Adams are excited about what the presence of the six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver can do when it comes to accelerating the 24-year-old Wilson’s build. Week to accelerate aviation.
“I never thought this was possible. Having it [Adams] here, with the ability to pair him with a budding superstar like Garrett Wilson, it’s a pretty special combination,” Rodgers mentioned, via SNY.
“Obviously, going in with Garrett, we talked about this a little over a year ago. How we wish we could have played together. I’m a fan of his game, obviously the feeling is mutual on his side as well. So yeah, we are here.” now. We have to maximize this and take advantage of it.”
