Derek Carr, Davante Adams Reunited As Las Vegas Raiders
The legendary Fresno State football duo is back together as the Las Vegas Raiders go all-in to be Super Bowl contenders.
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A Red Wave connection reunited in silver and black.
The arms race in the National Football League’s AFC West division took a rather unexpected turn on Thursday afternoon, but it brought back together a dynamic duo familiar to long-time Fresno State Bulldogs fans.
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams, who had recently been tagged with the team’s franchise tag, was traded earlier today to the Las Vegas Raiders for its first two draft picks in the 2022 NFL Draft and then reportedly signed to a massive multi-year contract, per Ian Rapoport. The move reunites him with quarterback Derek Carr, who paired up at Fresno State in 2012 and 2013 to form one of the most dynamic passing game duos in Mountain West football history.
In two seasons with the Bulldogs, Adams racked up 233 catches for 3,031 yards and 38 touchdowns, the first of which was a program record until Keesean Johnson surpassed it in 2018 and the last of which still stands as such. Carr, of course, was the Mountain West offensive player of the year in 2013 and set career records with a 66.7% completion rate, 12,843 passing yards and 113 touchdowns over three full seasons.
Together, they also helped the Bulldogs clinch a share of the Mountain West title in 2012 before winning it outright in 2013. The following year, both were selected in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the then-Oakland Raiders and Green Bay Packers.
The boys are back. @derekcarrqb 🤝 @tae15adams #GoDogs | #BulldogBornBulldogBred pic.twitter.com/eTq3TIRvbx
— Fresno State Football 🧸 (@FresnoStateFB) March 18, 2022
Since then, Carr lifted the Raiders to playoff berths in 2016, though he was knocked out with injury before the team was eliminated in the wild card round that year, and 2021, where they lost a close contact to the eventual AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals. Adams, meanwhile, thrived with Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay and made five straight Pro Bowls from 2017 to 2021 with two first-team All-Pro nods over the past two seasons, as well.
Adams becomes the most recent addition to a division that has seen the Raiders, Denver Broncos, and Los Angeles Chargers all make aggressive moves to dethrone the Kansas City Chiefs, who’ve won the AFC West six years in a row. For the Red Wave faithful looking for an excuse to head to the desert and Allegiant Stadium, however, there’s no better excuse to do so in 2022.
