Sources – Raiders’ Davante Adams reviewed week to week

Davante Adams went lame in the final minutes of the Las Vegas Raiders’ practice Thursday, seizing his hamstring with an injury that is expected to sideline the star wide receiver on a weekly basis, sources said from the league to ESPN.

The Raiders didn’t try to pretend Adams could play Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, ruling him out Friday in a sign it could turn into a multi-week absence.

As a source told ESPN over the weekend, wide receivers and hamstring injuries don’t mix well. Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown injured his hamstring the Friday before Philadelphia’s Week 2 game against Atlanta and will miss his third straight game on Sunday.

The Raiders were already in the midst of a tumultuous week in which they mulled over but ultimately opted against a change in starting quarterback. Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said he was going to make “business decisions” before losing Adams and Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby to injuries.

Crosby was dealing with a sprained ankle he suffered late in the Raiders’ Week 2 win at Baltimore, and he tried to overcome the injury during last Sunday’s loss to the Panthers. Caroline.

Pierce told reporters after an embarrassing 36-22 home loss that he thought “there were certainly individuals making business decisions, and we’ll make business decisions going forward as well.”

Those comments led to speculation that the Raiders would consider trading Adams, but that’s not an option currently — and it wasn’t last summer either.

The Raiders rejected several teams that approached them over the summer, asking if Adams would be available in a trade, according to league sources. The Raiders considered an Adams trade a failure and turned down at least two teams before an offer could even be made, according to sources.

When it comes to the quarterback position, the Raiders opted to stick with veteran incumbent Gardner Minshew over Aidan O’Connell. But the quarterback competition has been so tight throughout training camp and even this season, that Minshew will start against the Browns, but O’Connell could be called up at any time, according to league sources.

Sources around the team said they believed Minshew would keep his job as long as he played well and the team won.

With Adams sidelined, Minshew will have to rely on other pass catchers such as Jakobi Meyers and rookie tight end Brock Bowers against Cleveland.

The Raiders are used to adjusting to life without Adams. When they played in preseason last summer, Adams was away from the team to be with his pregnant wife, who gave birth to the couple’s first son.

“Collectively, no one needs to be Davante Adams,” Pierce said Friday. “I don’t need another Davante. There’s only one, right? I just need the best version of Jakobi Meyers.

“We’ll see what happens on Sunday, but we really think [positive] give these guys the last 12 hours and now today, tomorrow to get ready for the game. »

Adams has 18 catches for 209 yards and a touchdown in three games. He last missed a game in 2021, with the Green Bay Packers. Bowers, the Raiders’ first-round pick at No. 13 overall, leads all NFL tight ends with 18 catches for 197 yards and a touchdown and plans to be even more involved.

ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez contributed to this report.