Raiders WR Davante Adams on Derek Carr benching: He’s the ‘reason I came here in the first place’

Davante Adams didn’t force his way to Las Vegas to get a front-row seat to watch his friend get benched.

Such is reality with the Raiders, though, forcing Adams to answer questions about Derek Carr‘s demotion on Wednesday.

“Obviously, I don’t think, anybody was excited about it in here,” Adams said. “Him being one of my really good friends and the reason I came here in the first place. I mean, I wouldn’t be here right now if he wasn’t here. I think everyone knows how I feel about him and you know, with that said, there’s a process of how things go and I’m not going to sit here and go on and on but obviously, I support my guy, you know.”

Adams’ offseason move to Las Vegas could be seen for nearly a year, when Carr started actively recruiting his former Fresno State running mate through media interviews. When the time came for Green Bay to make a decision on Adams’ future, the Packers placed the franchise tag on him, which set up a standoff that ended in Green Bay trading Adams to Las Vegas, where he immediately signed a lucrative contract extension that should have set up a long-term partnership with his old pal Carr.

Instead, the pairing lasted less than a season before Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels benched Carr in favor of backup Jarrett Stidham.

The move came as a surprise to most, considering the fact the Raiders aren’t yet eliminated from playoff contention. Their Christmas Eve loss to the Steelers decreased their chances significantly, but if a number of games elsewhere ended in their favor, Las Vegas could have reached Week 18 with a chance to sneak into the postseason.

However, McDaniels had seen enough from Carr — including three interceptions thrown in the Week 16 loss to Pittsburgh — to make his decision.

Despite signing a three-year extension in the offseason, Wednesday’s news cast serious doubt on Carr’s future with the only NFL team he’s ever known. Now, Adams is faced with the possibility of continuing his career in Las Vegas without the person who served as the main reason he wanted to join the Raiders in the first place.

When asked whether Carr’s benching changes his long-term outlook in Las Vegas, Adams avoided answering the question directly.

“Well we got two games left,” Adams said. “We got the Niners this week and then we got another game to go and finish, so that’s all that I’m really focused on.”

Adams and Carr have proven to be productive in their first professional season together, connecting 88 times for 1,290 yards and 12 touchdowns. On the surface, those numbers are very positive and indicate a pairing that’s working well together. But too often, Las Vegas struggled to move the football in the second halves of games, leading to a number of heartbreaking defeats.

The Carr-Adams connection, while productive, hasn’t led to the win total most expected when the Raiders acquired the receiver in the offseason. McDaniels’ move to Stidham suggests Carr is to blame for their 6-9 record, even if it’s more complicated than that.

McDaniels painted the decision as one motivated by curiosity. With such a slim chance of reaching the postseason, he’d rather get a good look at what his team has in Stidham than keep playing a quarterback in whom McDaniels may have lost faith.

This doesn’t change Adams’ responsibilities entering Week 17. How it impacts his feelings on being a Raider remains to be seen.

“The ball keeps rolling, you gotta figure it out,” Adams said. “I’ve played eight years without him, you know, that was what I had to do then and this is what I have to do for the remainder of the season and then moving forward we’ll see how everything goes from there.”