Davante Adams spent two seasons with Jordan Love in Green Bay, watching the quarterback study under Aaron Rodgers for an eventual Packers baton-passing. Seeing how much Love has grown since impresses the current Raiders receiver.
Joining the "The Rush" podcast with Maxx Crosby, Adams said he doesn't regret pushing for a trade to Las Vegas but he wonders about what it would be like to play with Love now.
"At the time when I was (in Green Bay), I hadn't necessarily seen enough to say this is for sure what I should do," Adams said of his decision to leave the Packers. "But in hindsight, like we talked about, the kid is a f------ baller, man. I'm so happy for him.
"I haven't really had a chance to truly sit down and talk with him, but I want to tell him at some point like, 'I definitely don't regret changing [teams], but I'm super proud of what you've done. If there's a way I could pull you over here [to Las Vegas] and drag you with me like that, that would've been cool, too.'
"Obviously, we saw what he did at the end of the year. I don't regret what I did, but, at the same time, it's definitely you look back on it like, 'damn, that boy kind of balling right now.'"
At the time of Adams' trade to the Raiders, Rodgers was still entrenched as the starter, coming off back-to-back NFL MVPs. The star wideout pushed for a trade and new contract in Vegas, joining with former college teammate Derek Carr. That reunion didn't last long, as Carr was eventually benched at the end of 2022 and released.
Adams played alongside Jimmy Garoppolo and Aidan O'Connell last season. With the Raiders shut out of the first-round quarterbacks in last week's draft, O'Connell and Gardner Minshew will battle to toss passes to Adams and the rest of a good receiver corps in Vegas.
Given that backdrop, it's easy to understand why Adams might pine for a quarterback who has shown the ability to lift his club into the postseason.
The 31-year-old wideout believes Love has already shown he can be the "next one" in Green Bay.
"I think he is. I think he has shown that," Adams said. "He is starting to come into his own. You can see the way he is talking in front of media and everything. It's like a whole different person than what I saw when I was there. That comes with experience."
