All-Pro wide receiver's praise of Ravens' Lamar Jackson sparks trade buzz

Scott Davis

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All-Pro wide receiver's praise of Ravens' Lamar Jackson sparks trade buzz image

When an opposing player goes out of his way to praise another team's quarterback, NFL fans take notice. 

That was the case this week with Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams.

The Baltimore Ravens face the Raiders in Week 2 in Baltimore. Ahead of the matchup, Adams showered Jackson with praise, calling Jackson the best "ball carrier of all-time" and saying he has studied Jackson's moves.

"I felt like broken tackles was an area that I really wanted to focus on and make better. And I was literally finding myself watching Lamar Jackson highlights in my locker before the games," Adams said. "Dude changed the game. In my opinion, he’s the best ball carrier ever, no matter what position you want to talk about. I don’t think anybody’s as big of a threat to carry the football. And obviously he’s worked really hard to develop in the other parts of his game as well. And you’ve seen that come a long way too.

"So, he’s a huge threat, somebody you got to be accountable for out there and make sure you know what he’s doing and getting on the film of that. And obviously, I don’t have to worry about that, but yeah, he’s a hell of a football player."

Read more: Ravens vs. Raiders prediction: NFL experts pick Week 2 winner

While it's a good quote from Adams, it also raised some eyebrows.

Adams, at 31, has been part of trade rumors for years. He is an aging, but still-great receiver on a re-tooling Raiders team that doesn't appear to be going anywhere fast.

Meanwhile, Ravens fans are forever searching for another dynamic receiver to boost the offense. The Ravens are fairly shallow at receiver, with just three veterans in Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, and Nelson Agholor.

Ravens fans couldn't help but wonder if this was the start of some Adams-to-Baltimore rumors.

Ravens trading for Adams is unlikely

Some have their doubts, however. As Ravens analyst Your Boy Q noted on the "Locked On Ravens" podcast, trade rumors for Adams have been circulating for years, but he has not been made available.

Additionally, Adams doesn't seem to fit the bill of the type of player the Ravens look to acquire. While Baltimore could always go in a different direction, they have typically looked on the margins for impact players.

It seems unlikely that the Ravens would use the draft capital to acquire a pricey veteran like Adams, when they already have a lot of mouths to feed with Derrick Henry, Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, and Flowers.

This is especially true when Baltimore looks to have more pressing needs along the offensive line and at pass-rush.

Scott Davis

Scott Davis Photo

Scott Davis covers the Knicks and Ravens on The Sporting News. He previously spent much of the last decade as a sports reporter for Business Insider, covering all sports, with a specific focus on the NBA and NFL. Follow him on Twitter/X @WScottDavis