What Davante Adams Had To Say About Facing Packers For First Time

Davante Adams made a habit out of tormenting defenses during his eight-year run with the Green Bay Packers. The Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver will get a chance to torture his former team's secondary for the first time on Monday Night Football.

Adams and the Raiders host the Packers at 8:15 p.m. ET on Monday night. This Week 5 matchup will mark the first time the six-time Pro Bowler faces the Packers since he was traded in March of last year. The Raiders are listing Adams as questionable for Monday's game with a shoulder injury, though multiple reports indicate the 30-year-old will be on the field against Green Bay.

Is this a revenge game? No. But it is one Adams is looking forward to.

"It's more just enjoying an opportunity to see some of the old faces from in the training room, coaches, a couple players," Adams said at a press conference ahead of the game. "...Once the game starts, it's just like every other game. It's not going to be a whole lot of emotion and all that other stuff tied up in it once the clock is ticking. So, the story and the specialness of the opportunity to play the team that you kind of grew up in that organization is special, but then like I said, once we get going, it's time to go."

Before the Packers and Raiders kick off, here's a look at what else Adams had to say ahead of this reunion, from looking back at being traded to previewing going against an old teammate.

Adams Shares 'Mutual Respect' With Packers

The Packers drafted Adams with a second-round pick in the 2014 draft, and the Fresno State product quickly became a top target for quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Adams went to five Pro Bowls and was named first-team All-Pro twice during his time in Green Bay. Over his final two seasons with the franchise, Adams caught a combined 238 passes for 2,927 yards and 29 touchdowns. So, why would the Packers let an elite wide receiver in the middle of his prime go to another team? Money was at least part of the issue.

Green Bay placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Adams roughly a week before he was traded. Adams, according to multiple reports at the time, told the Packers he would not play on the franchise tag and insisted on a lucrative long-term deal. The Packers ended up trading Adams to the Raiders in exchange for first and second-round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft.

More than a year later, and despite how the relationship ended, Adams said he's still on good terms with his former organization.

"It wasn't some big crazy breakup that people thought it was," Adams said. "...A lot of mutual love and respect between the Packers and I."

After the trade was finalized, Adams signed a five-year, $141.25 million contract that made him the highest-paid wide receiver in the league. The Packers, according to ESPN, were willing to match or exceed the money Adams ended up getting from the Raiders, though the All-Pro preferred to continue his career elsewhere.

Adams said that Rodgers' uncertain long-term status playing football contributed to him wanting a change of scenery. But had the Packers offered a better deal from the start of negotiations, Adams explained that he would have stayed in Green Bay for at least one more season.

"It was obviously a lot of limbo with Aaron and his situation deciding what his future was going to be like playing football, let alone on that team," Adams said. "So, it wasn't really a risk that I could take at the time, and it was a decision that had to be made. But had they made the correct offer or submitted something like they did right before I left, then I would have 100 percent been there for another year and then we would obviously see what happened as it moved forward. But at least for that upcoming season, I would say, yes, I would have been there."

Adams left the Packers ranking second in franchise history in receptions (669) and receiving touchdowns (73), while ranking fourth in receiving yards (8,121). With Adams out of the picture, the Packers traded up last year and used a second-round pick to select Christian Watson, who led the team in receiving touchdowns as a rookie.

Adams said he still speaks to members of Green Bay's front office and wished Packers coach Matt LaFleur a happy birthday. LaFleur also gushed about his former premier pass-catcher this week.

"If he's not the best, he is certainly right there," LaFleur said. "Every time he goes out on the field, every snap, you better know where he's lined up, you better have a plan for him because he can take over a game. We've seen it first-hand over the years and I think just some of the plays he's made this season through four games have been unbelievable but it doesn't ever surprise me because I've seen him do it for years.

"Just a guy that we've got a ton of respect for—not only the player, the person, the competitor—and we're going to have our hands full with him."

Adams, Alexander Reunite on Opposing Teams

Adams caught 100 passes for 1,516 yards and a league-leading 14 touchdowns last season, his first with the Raiders, on his way to All-Pro honors. That type of standout play has continued for Adams through the first month of the 2023 season.

A matchup with the Packers means the wide receiver will go up against one of his accomplished former teammates. Jaire Alexander has been named to two Pro Bowls and earned two second-team All-Pro honors since the Packers drafted the cornerback with a first-round pick in 2018.

Adams still remembers the first time he went one-on-one with Alexander in practice during the latter's rookie season. The 6-foot-1 receiver won the rep, but it was what happened afterward that caught Adams' attention. Adams arrived at the locker room after practice and saw Alexander already buried in his iPad, looking at the tape to see how Adams had beaten him, then eventually asking the receiver about the route.

That made a strong impression on Adams.

"At that point in my career," Adams said, "if you have young guys come in, and especially a rookie, they'll come in and then they'll get beat and it's just kind of like: 'We'll learn from it on tape.' But it wasn't something that really got to them to their core like how it was with him. So, that's when I knew he was going to be a special player... I didn't create that monster, but he definitely turned into one."

Adams said it will be fun to go against Alexander in a game setting, though it won't be easy.

Alexander has missed the last two games with a back injury but is expected to play against Adams and the Raiders. The 26-year-old defensive back, who intercepted a career-high five passes last season, knows the challenge ahead of him on Monday night.

"It's pretty evident he's the best in the league," Alexander said of Adams this week. "He's just quick. I mean I can go on and on, but he's the best. I'll leave it at that."