Davante Adams Stays Put As Maxx Crosby Eyes Strong Raiders Season | GSMC Football Podcast

all right and we are back here on the gsmc football podcast and for the third part of the show talk about a couple of Raiders talk about Devonte Adams as well as Max Max Crosby so a couple guys well one guy on the offensive side of the ball one guy on defensive side of the ball well the two best players on their respective sides of the ball for this team so with Devonte Adams so he's committed to the Raiders so I know a lot of speculation with him on well at least during the season with him maybe wanting to get out of Vegas because of what was going on I mean the Raiders got off to a bad start you know Jimmy Garoppolo wasn't playing well and Josh McDaniels just clearly was not the guy to be the head coach for the team and I think a lot of people knew that when he was hired and yeah so he basically said recently if I wanted to be gone I'd be gone now this is where I want to be Devonte Adams signed that big contract in 2022 a 5year $140 million deal so he's committed to the team and now with both of these players they were advocating for the Raiders to keep Antonio Pierce as the head coach and that is what ended up happening which I think was the right decision for them and let's see what they do in 2024 but Devonte Adams has been productive with the Raiders even with the question marks a quarterback obviously he did want to come to the Raiders to play with Derek Carr but that only lasted for a season then you had Garoppolo and a no Connell playing quarterback for the Raiders also Brian Hoyer as well so yeah it was kind of a quarterback Carousel in 2023 but a no conell was the best out of the three now again was he great no but you know got they won some games with them they won that game on Christmas albeit you know they didn't throw a or they didn't complete a pass after the first quarter but they still won that game so he managed the game well and yeah Devonte Adams again has been productive with the Raiders in 2023 he had over a th yards he had eight touchdowns and again this is with the quarterback carousel on the Raiders last year so Devonte Adams is one of those receivers that he could still produce even if they don't have a Star Quarterback now again I wish him and Aaron Rogers were still playing together because for me with Aaron roders Devonte Adams was the best receiver in the NFL but now it's kind of Justin Jefferson's time um but you know now we'll see what happens in 2024 what the Raiders do obviously they did bring in uh Gardner menu in the off season now we'll see what the Raiders do with the draft themselves because again I don't think Gardner mchu or Aiden oconnell are the long-term answers at quarterback I think bringing in Gardner muu was smart because arguably is the best backup quarterback in the NFL and he played well for the Colts last season and the Colts they had a chance to make the playoffs they were right there and unfortunately they lost a tough game to the Texans and yeah so now he's on the Raiders but yeah I I think that was a good move for the Raiders um but and Devonte Adam appears to trust the Raiders organization to find a reliable quarterback regardless of the direction they choose to take I mean they should draft a quarterback like I said I don't think it's going to be I don't think you're going into 2024 with Gardner muu and Aiden oconnell I think there that there's another move that is going to be made and that is going to be through the draft now maybe they see somebody they like and they trade up for him so we'll keep an eye on it but you know again I think the Raiders offensively they're a good situation for a Young quarterback to step into because you have Devonte Adams you have jacobe Meyers you got the uh well Michael Mayer going into his second season Trey Tucker going into his second season and he showed flashes in 2024 so and then of course well they did lose Josh Jacobs but zamir white did a nice job running the football for them in his absence so like that situation and again it's it's for some people you might find it odd of me saying that and again there's other teams that I've said oh that this is a good situation cuz you know the lack of success for some teams and now you're saying well it's a it's a good situation the Raiders I I I think is a good situation because of The Playmakers you got and I I think Antonio Pierce is going to turn this team around now I don't expect this team to make the playoffs in 2024 but again they won eight games last year and and at one point you thought you know they were going to finish with one of the worst records in the NFL but they pulled the plug on Josh McDaniels they pulled the plug on garoo and Antonio Pierce stepped in did a nice job really changed the culture there and they won eight games so who's to say they can't improve on that they can't build on that you know the defense was playing better as well so we'll see now again I mean are they going to give the Chiefs some fits yeah but this is the chief's division to lose and I don't see any of the teams that are in this Division I don't see any of these teams really stacking up against the Chiefs in at least in 2024 because you got the Chargers were kind of rebuilding I mean you still got Herbert of course and you know Justin Herbert and Patrick Mahomes have played in some great games over the years and Herbert's kind of been on the losing end for the most part but you know they're kind of retooling in I think the Chargers are probably the second place team right now them and the Raiders are probably battling battling it out and then the Broncos I think are probably going to be the last place team but that's kind of how I see it right now and let's see what the Raiders do at quarterback like I said um you know it's I think what's probably going to end up happening is you you draft the quarterback and then Gardner muu is probably going to start or at least you know Garner mchu and Adel Connell going to battle it out and then the rookie quarterback's going to so again that's just how I see it but I could be wrong but now let's kind of get into what Max Crosby had to say so max Crosby on the defensive side of the ball he is the best player on the Raiders defensively and uh he's fully recovered from a knee injury and is feeling better as ever as enters his first full season Under head coach Antonio Pierce Crosby expressed optimism about his recovery and conditioning stating that he smashes conditioning test and feels better than ever despite dealing with a knee injury throughout the 2023 season so he was playing hurt Crosby had a standout year setting career high marks and sacks get 14 and a half sacks 90 tackles and 23 tackles for loss he earned his third Pro Bowl nod and was named second Team all pro he played in all 17 games despite needing frequent medical attention for his knee and ongoing knee and hand procedures in the off season now fully healthy Crosby looks forward to playing alongside new defensive tackle who I talked about yesterday Christian Wilkins but emphasize the importance of hard work over potential Crosby acknowledges that games aren't one in free agency and stresses the need for him and Wilkins to put in the work together to achieve success on the field with the 2024 draft approaching there may be further additions to the Raiders defensive front but having a fully healthy Crosby bodess well for the team's chances for the upcoming season and I wanted to uh just look at the direct quotes from Crosby himself and and he said re recovery and Rehab has been incredible I just did my conditioning test last week and smashed it I'm feeling better than ever than I ever have so it's been an incredible off season for me so far I was definitely banged up my knee was an issue but I was able to play I definitely don't want to do that again and go through that draining it multiple times every week it was a pain but we made it through so it was even more motivation when people were like shut it down shut it down shut it down I was like no I'm not like everybody else to be completely honest I just had to keep moving and and then he talked about you know pairing up with Christian Wilkins potential is one thing action is another for us it's about the work we have a ton of work to do me and Christian haven't played a single snap together we haven't done a single rep together at the end of the day we got a ton of work to do I've said it many times Christian is a great player I've been watching Christian seeing his career from afar for a long time I'm Fe fired up to get to work to get to work with him and yeah you also got the draft coming up we'll see what the Raiders do I mean they could go quarterback or maybe they uh they address a position on defense I think that's definitely what you're probably going to end up seeing is you're going to see them draft a quarterback but you're also going to see them you know kind of go heavy on the defensive side of the ball in this draft I feel like that's what they have to do again maybe they I don't know did they make any other running backs oh actually they did sign I think they signed Alexander Madison so they signed him to go along with zamir white so maybe we'll see maybe if they draft running back in the later rounds but I think that's probably what they're going to end up doing cuz at receiver I think they're fine maybe they draft one later for depth but I think for me what their needs are is probably quarterback and then on the defensive side of the ball maybe they address some things there as well maybe guys you know they address uh Corner possibly um maybe they could also you know address the offensive line probably see them draft the lineman maybe but yeah I I mean I I expect the Raiders to continue to be an improved team in 2024 again I'm not really looking at them as a playoff team could they hang around and maybe you know fight for a wild card spot I mean it's definitely definitely possible but I think this is going to be another building block year for them and then maybe in 2025 you might see this team really you know be a legit contest Contender well at least a playoff Contender um because again they got the pieces you know defensively again Max Crosby you added Christian Wilkins offensively you know you like the receivers they got um so they they got some building blocks and I think this again is going to continue to be a this might be a building block season here and then 2025 you might really see things take off but again I could be wrong I could be wrong that's just my opinion but again I think they'll give the Chiefs fits again but it's the chief's division to lose you know that I I think they're going to win this division pretty easily in 2024 but who knows who knows so um but again you got to like that the Raiders they kept Antonio Pierce and they didn't try to bring in someone else they didn't try to you know bring back John Gruden or something like that no they the players wanted Antonio Pierce they loved playing for him and they really responded to him when he took over because they they played better and I mean I know they gave up but they also you know they dropped 60 points on the Chargers so they really like playing for Antonio Pierce and on the other side the Chargers really did not like playing for Brandon Staley that's why he's gone but I just wanted to throw that in there too so yeah I I mean we'll see what the Raiders do but I think if you're a Raiders fan you got to be optimistic about the direction that the team is going in and let's see what they do in the draft so uh now with that being said again let me know what you guys think about uh these two headlines here uh what do you expect from Devonte Adams Max Crosby going into 2024 I mean Devonte Adams I think still has good years left in him he's going to continue to be productive and with Max Crosby I mean now you got Christian Wilkins there on the defensive line that's only going to help him and you know now he seems to be fully healthy so you know um expect him to have a good year as well but let me know what you guys think about the Raiders and what you think they're going to end up doing this season so when we come back from our final break of the show we're going to talk about Daniel Jones and the New York Giants so he did address the media uh talked about his rehab and where he's at currently so we'll talk about all that when we return from our final break of the show so for one final time today stick around and we'll be right back here on the GMC football podcast