Every year, when the schedule for the upcoming NFL season comes out, each team tends to reveal its respective schedule with a flashy and creative video on social media. The Los Angeles Chargers, who will both start and finish the 2024 regular season against the Las Vegas Raiders, did so by having some fun at the expense of Raiders star wide receiver Davante Adams.
On Tuesday’s episode of “Up & Adams,” Adams reacted by giving the Chargers a bold warning.
Davante Adams has hurt the Chargers in the past
The Chargers have long been fierce rivals with the Raiders. It’s one of those organic rivalries, given that the Raiders long represented Oakland, while the Chargers have always been based in either L.A. or San Diego.
Adams has certainly gotten up for his contest against the Bolts ever since he was traded to the Raiders two years ago. In Week 1 of the 2022 season, which was his first game with Las Vegas, he caught 10 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown, and he then notched 177 yards and two touchdowns in a Week 13 win over Los Angeles.
Last season, he tallied eight catches for 101 yards and a touchdown in Las Vegas’ 63-21 beatdown of the Bolts in Week 15 that led to the Bolts firing then-head coach Brandon Staley.
Jim Harbaugh is now Los Angeles’ head coach, and he is not one who will back down from trash talk. The Chargers may not have the horses to win, but one should expect them to play with a higher level of fervor under the perpetually wound-up Harbaugh.
Amidst the Raiders’ struggles the last two years, it’s easy to forget that Adams is still one of the NFL’s best wideouts. His stats were a bit weak last season (by his standards), as he posted 1,144 yards and eight touchdowns, but just the year before that, he had 1,516 yards and a league-high 14 receiving touchdowns. That earned him his sixth straight Pro Bowl selection and third straight All-Pro First Team nod.
Las Vegas does have a bit of a problem at the quarterback position. It started 2023 with veteran Jimmy Garoppolo under center, but it benched him at midseason and replaced him with Aidan O’Connell, a rookie.
O’Connell didn’t exactly impress observers or fans, and he is now battling Gardner Minshew II—who filled in decently for the injured Anthony Richardson last season while with the Indianapolis Colts—for the QB1 spot.
But when the Raiders play the Chargers, one can throw everything into that trash can the Chargers’ schedule reveal depicted next to Davante Adams. Both teams will play out, as pride and bragging rights are always on the line.
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