While the football world debates the best landing spot for Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce isn’t focusing on the receiver’s Tuesday trade request.
“Davante’s dealing with a hamstring, he’s rehabbing, and the rest of us are focused on Denver,” Pierce told reporters on Wednesday, noting that Adams is supposed to be in the building rehabbing after missing Week 4 due to injury.
Pierce said it’s not difficult to put his head down and prepare for Sunday’s upcoming game against the Denver Broncos despite the rumors swirling around Adams.
“Because it starts with me, because that’s my only focus,” Pierce said. “I get paid here to get ready each and every week for the opponent. I don’t blink. I don’t flinch. I’ve said it before: I’ve been through enough in my life with adversity and stuff that it doesn’t bother me. I just move forward. The next obstacle in front of me is the Denver Broncos, and that’s what I presented to my team, and that’s what they’re doing right now in the meetings. We’re about to go out to practice and do it versus the Broncos.”
Currently, his relationship with his top receiver also appears to be an obstacle. Adams’ trade request went viral Tuesday afternoon after the receiver declined to comment on Pierce appearing to like a comment on social media about a potential trade.
Asked Wednesday whether the “like” was accidental, Pierce responded: “Yeah, I’m focused on Denver.”
Pierce said he and Adams “talk often” but declined to say if he’s spoken to the wideout in the past few days after Adams said on Tuesday that he hadn’t heard from his head coach.
The first-year full-time coach said he wasn’t worried about the Adams situation distracting his club from the task at hand.
“Just business as usual. You’ve got to keep rolling,” he said. “Things come up every day. Since I’ve taken over this job, it’s been obstacles. So, just another one.”
