In a league that likes to eliminate distractions, the Raiders have a significant one on their hands this week with receiver Davante Adams’ trade request.
Las Vegas still has a game this week, as the club will be on the road to face Denver. Quarterback Gardner Minshew said in his Wednesday press conference that the Raiders have to stay focused on the task at hand with those in the building.
“Obviously, everybody understands Davante’s situation,” Minshew said. “We all love Davante, but understand he’s got to make the best decision for him. Our team has to make the best decision for us, and we’ve got to keep moving forward and try to figure out how to win games.”
Minshew noted that head coach Antonio Pierce addressed the situation with the team, with Minshew terming it, “the elephant in the room.”
“[He] just told us kind of leave it there. That’s not for us to handle,” Minshew said. “Our job is to get out there and practice to prepare for this week, so that’s all we can do and trust that the guys upstairs are going to make the right decisions for our team.”
Adams did not play in the Week 4 victory over the Browns due to his hamstring injury, giving the Raiders an idea of what the offense may look like going forward without him.
“Yeah, it’s kind of next man up mentality,” Minshew said. “I think everybody stepped up and played a role. ‘Kobe’ [Jakobi Meyers] took on a bigger role, and he’s going to be a guy I got to do a better job of getting him the ball. He won more than we hit last week, so I think there’s more there. ‘Tuck’ [Tre Tucker], DJ [Turner], both making big plays. I think we got guys that are primed for a role and they’re excited to get the ball.”
Through four weeks, Minshew has completed 70.7 percent of his passes for 877 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions.