The Pittsburgh Steelers avoided WR Davante Adams in Week 6, but they won’t be able to two weeks in a row. After the Las Vegas Raiders traded him to the New York Jets, his hamstring magically healed itself. In fact, his new-old quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, believes Adams has found the secret recipe.
“Obviously, he looks like he’s drinking the elixir from the Fountain of Youth, as I watched some of his clips”, he said of Davante Adams while speaking to the media on Wednesday. “We went back and watched some old 2014 stuff when he was a rookie”.
Rodgers noted that Adams came into the league heavier at 220 pounds but has since played at 210. He believes Adams plays faster and more dynamic than he did coming out of college. And even closing in on 32 years old, Rodgers still sees that guy. Equally important, he is the same guy above the neck.
“[Adams is] staying with me for the short-term”, Rodgers said. “We went right into the signals, and he was about 95 percent. He knows the original to the second iteration to the third and on down. His knowledge of the game is pretty extensive”.
Davante Adams and Aaron Rodgers spent eight years together with the Green Bay Packers. During those eight years together, they combined for 615 receptions for 7,529 yards and 68 touchdowns. Adams tacked on another 600 yards or so and five more touchdowns playing with others. But clearly, Aaron Rodgers is his guy, which was a critical component of the trade.
In 2024, Adams has played in three games, catching 18 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown. He has missed the past three games after straining his hamstring begging for a trade. Now that he got his trade, that hamstring is nice and limber and he is ready to go. Funny how the human body works sometimes.
While he is technically learning a new system, Davante Adams has a good base to work with. The Jets obviously built their system around Aaron Rodgers, and Adams grew up in Rodgers’ system. Rodgers already talked above about how far along Adams already is in picking up their signals.
One wouldn’t think that an 11-year veteran would need a great deal of time to “get up to speed” in any kind of pro offense though. With the connection Adams and Rodgers already have, he can contribute right away, even if not at full capacity.
The Jets already fired their head coach this year after falling to 2-3 (now 2-4), believing they have too talented a roster to be struggling this much. Trading for Davante Adams certainly only makes them more talented, and there’s no escaping that basic fast.
But the good news is the Steelers already had to brush up on him last week. They played him last year as well, and other times over the years, so they know what to expect. Davante Adams is Davante Adams—and never more so than when playing with Aaron Rodgers.
