As the years have gone on, it seems that most NFL stars and starters barely take the field, if they play at all, during the preseason. Las Vegas Raiders star wide receiver Davante Adams has no issue with this at all.
There is so much concern about injuries and player safety in today’s game that most teams would rather not take the risk with their top players and ensure they are ready to go when the games matter. While there are certainly some benefits to players playing during the preseason, especially if new systems are being installed and chemistry needs to be built between players, the risk usually isn’t worth the reward.
That is undoubtedly what Adams thinks as he recently spoke about the preseason, saying that while a few reps could help with some things, he would rather not play in the preseason if given the option, via Levi Damien of Raiders Wire:
“A few reps could help, but just based off of the risk, it’s not on mind as something that I’m looking forward to,” Adams said of playing in preseason. “I look forward to the games to watch the guys go at it and watch the team get better and all the things that go on with that. But I’m definitely not…if I’m choosing, I’m not playing.”
Adams revealed that he hasn’t played in a preseason game since 2016, his third NFL season, so he is very much accustomed to sitting out. To his point, it hasn’t stopped him from producing huge numbers throughout his career, as he was a six-time Pro Bowler and three-time First Team All-Pro with the Raiders and Green Bay Packers.
The question now is whether Raiders coach Antonio Pierce will honor Adams’s desire not to play during the preseason. Pierce has already said that he expects everyone to play during the preseason, so despite his wishes, Adams could be on the field for at least a series or two before the regular season begins.
Raiders Davante Adams believes he is the best receiver in the NFL
Davante Adams is coming off a down year by his standards, and he failed to make it to the Pro Bowl for the first time in six years. But that has done nothing to lower the confidence of the Raiders star, who still puts himself at the top of the list of wide receivers.
Adams recently spoke about the best in the league, saying he puts himself at the top, noting that he is the only player who has an argument about being in the top-3 receivers over the past six years. The Raiders star would then place Justin Jefferson, Tyreek Hill, CeeDee Lamb and Ja’Marr Chase in the top-5 alongside him.