Davante Adams pulled up lame in the closing minutes of the Las Vegas Raiders‘ practice Thursday, grabbing his hamstring with an injury that was expected to sideline the star wide receiver on a week-to-week basis, league sources told ESPN.
The Raiders didn’t try to pretend Adams could play Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, ruling him out Friday in a sign this could turn into a multiweek absence.
As one source told ESPN this weekend, wide receivers and hamstring injuries are not a good combination. Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown injured his hamstring the Friday before Philadelphia’s Week 2 game against Atlanta and will sit out his third consecutive game Sunday.
The Raiders already were in the midst of a tumultuous week in which they mulled but ultimately opted against a starting quarterback change. Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said he was going to be making some “business decisions” before losing Adams and Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby to injuries.
Crosby was dealing with a high left ankle sprain he suffered near the end of the Raiders’ Week 2 win at Baltimore, and he tried to play through the injury during last Sunday’s loss to the Carolina Panthers.
Pierce told reporters after an embarrassing 36-22 loss at home that he thought “there were definitely some individuals that made business decisions, and we’ll make business decisions going forward as well.”
Those comments led to speculation the Raiders would consider trading Adams, but that is not currently an option — nor was it last summer.
The Raiders rejected multiple teams that approached them over the summer, inquiring whether Adams would be available in a trade, according to league sources. The Raiders considered an Adams trade a nonstarter and turned away at least two teams before an offer could even be made, according to sources.
As for the quarterback position, the Raiders opted to stick with veteran incumbent Gardner Minshew over Aidan O’Connell. But the quarterback competition has been so close throughout training camp and even this season, that Minshew will get the start against the Browns, but O’Connell could be called on any time, according to league sources.
Sources around the team said they believed Minshew would hold on to the job as long as he played well and the team won.
With Adams sidelined, Minshew will have to lean on other pass catchers such as Jakobi Meyers and rookie tight end Brock Bowers against Cleveland.
The Raiders are used to adjusting to life without Adams. When they were playing in the preseason last summer, Adams was away from the team to be with his pregnant wife, who gave birth to the couple’s first son.
“Collectively, nobody needs to be Davante Adams,” Pierce said Friday. “I don’t need another Davante. There’s only one, right? I just need the best version of Jakobi Meyers.
“We’ll see what happens come Sunday, but we really feel [positive] giving these guys the last 12 hours and now today, tomorrow to get ready for the game.”
Adams has 18 catches for 209 yards and a touchdown through three games. He last sat out a game in 2021, with the Green Bay Packers. Bowers, the Raiders’ first-round draft pick at No. 13 overall, leads all NFL tight ends with 18 catches for 197 yards and a touchdown and figures to be even more involved.
ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez contributed to this report.
