Raiders insist Davante Adams was never a distraction, ready to move forward with focus on Rams

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Davante Adams was never a distraction, and his absence does not equate to a rebuild.

That was the message from the Las Vegas Raiders on Wednesday, one day after the six-time Pro Bowl receiver was traded to the New York Jets.

“Next man up, move on,” Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said during his weekly media gathering. “He was out for the last two weeks, so we’re fine. Just business as usual. That’s how we’ve been really operating the last couple weeks.”

Problem is, the last couple of weeks have seen the Raiders (2-4) suffer ugly losses in Denver and at home to Pittsburgh.

Star defensive end Maxx Crosby said while he wishes Adams the best, he’s focused on Sunday’s game in Inglewood against the Los Angeles Rams (1-4), a team coming off its bye week and just as desperate to find the win column.

“I’m focused on who’s here now, and we’re just trying to win football games,” Crosby said. “The Rams’ offense clearly has a lot of talent. Starts with Matthew Stafford. Incredible quarterback. And then you got Sean McVay behind him, you got two guys that know the game really well. And they provide a lot of issues. So we’re definitely looking forward to the challenge. I’m really excited.”

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Crosby and the defensive front may not be the issue, however, as Las Vegas had three sacks in Sunday’s home loss to Pittsburgh, marking the third game in a row that the Raiders have recorded at least that many, tied for the league’s third-longest active streak. They’ve also recorded multiple sacks in their past five games, the team’s longest streak since doing it in 10 straight games over the 2020-21 seasons.

It’s the mental mistakes that have haunted the Raiders, as they’ve committed six turnovers in the last two weeks. They also committed 11 penalties for 79 yards against the Broncos. And while they may have only had four penalties against the Steelers, two were roughing-the-passer calls on third down that set up touchdowns for Pittsburgh, including one on what would’ve been a Raiders interception.

“We know where we fall short — turnovers, penalties,” Ameer Abdullah said. “I feel like if we can get those things in order, we’re going to give ourselves a much better chance to win most of our games.

”(The Rams are) the biggest game because it’s the next game. I think it’s a must-win because it’s the next one.”

The Raiders also need to see improvement on offense, as they’ve got the fourth-worst production in ending their drives with a score at just 28.2% of the time. They’ve also got the sixth-lowest scoring average with a mere 18.2 points.

Aidan O’Connell, who took over as starting quarterback in Week 5, is now 0-2 with the keys to the offense. Nevertheless, he said he has faith in his receiving corps, as the team moves on from Adams.

“I thought we did a good job executing,” O’Connell said of Wednesday’s practice. “Obviously, we’re still in the early stages of our install ... it’s not Sunday yet, we’ve still got a few days to go and days to prepare.

“But I’m confident in our guys to go out and execute. And I think the good thing about the NFL is every week’s a new week. Whether you win or lose, you can wipe the slate and kind of have a short memory in that way.”

With Adams out of the picture, and Jakobi Meyers nursing an ankle injury, second-year wideout Tre Tucker could hear his number called plenty on Sunday.

“It’ll be a fun one, I played the Rams last year in preseason,” Tucker said. “That was a pretty good game and I’m excited to play them again.”

INJURY REPORT: Meyers (ankle), Crosby (ankle), LB Tommy Eichenberg (quad), LB Kana’i Mauga (knee), T Kolton Miller (knee/shoulder), G Dylan Parham (foot), DT John Jenkins (illness) and CB Jack Jones (illness) did not participate. RB Zamir White (groin) was limited. DT Adam Butler (knee), WR Tyreik McAllister (shoulder), T Thayer Munford (knee/ankle) and G J. Powers-Johnson (knee) were all full participants.

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