Davante Adams is a Raider: Las Vegas is now Super Bowl or bust

I awoke this morning and it’s true. Davante Adams is a Las Vegas Raider.

Holy Smokes.

It really happened,

Last night, I shared my initial thoughts on the blockbuster trade between the Las Vegas Raiders and Green Bay Packers that sent the best wide receiver in the NFL to the Raiders and first and second round picks to the Packers

Yet, I woke this morning with more thoughts. Allow me to unload them on you:

There is a lot of sudden Super Bowl talk about the Raiders and for good reason. That’s why they made this trade and that’s why they signed Chandler Jones. The Josh McDaniels-Dave Ziegler regime is all in. Rebuild? Nope. They’re reloading.

This is a league where the teams with the best players win.

Well, the Raiders now have Adams, Derek Carr, Darren Waller, Maxx Crosby, Jones, Hunter Renfrow and Josh Jacobs.

Why not them?

The skeptics talk about the risk of the Adams trade and, yes, there are, indeed, risks. He is getting huge money and they Raiders gave up draft capital. At some point, the downside of this deal will rear its ugly head and the Raiders will feel it. But that is likely four or five years from now.

The recent draft misses and this commitment will affect Las Vegas at some point, but it won’t matter if the Raiders win a Super Bowl. It’s like the Los Angeles Rams. All of their wild spending and trades will eventually catch up, but who cares? Their approach resulted in a Super Bowl.

Now, the Raiders are in the same situation. Anything less than Carr and Adams celebrating a Lombardi Trophy with a parade down The Strip will be a failure. This trade wasn’t made for the Raiders to finally win a playoff game. It’s about winning it all. That’s the expectation and that’s the reality.

This is an all-in move. Really, McDaniels and Ziegler had no choice.

They know the Kansas City Chiefs have the best quarterback on the planet. They know Russell Wilson is on the Denver Broncos. They know the super talented Los Angeles Chargers just added Khalil Mack and C.J. Jackson. The Raiders had to answer and with Adams and Jones, they answered like a boss.

The winner of the AFC West is going to be a bad motherfucker.

But, that’s just the first task. The Super Bowl looms and the Raiders know. So, this is a wonderful opportunity with major consequences if it doesn’t work for the franchise.

The same goes for Carr.

It’s his time to answer the call. He has Adams, his close friend and college teammate. He has other weapons. I mean, Adams, Waller and Renfrow? Come on, Carr must take the next step at his age 31 season. He must stop with the untimely turnovers and bad decisions. He has it all in front of him. He must show he can be a champion.

The bottom line; No excuses allowed.

Speaking of Waller, he is going to explode under McDaniels. Did Gronk have a receiving weapon like Adams in New England? The possibilities are endless.

There should be a three-drink minimum for this Vegas show,

And let’s not forget the Vegas aspect here. When the move from Oakland was announced, I told fans that it would be a game changer. A beautiful, new stadium, a big-time location would mean the Raiders were moving into the NFL’s high-rent district and moves like this show it. And they will continue to make splashes over the years. But, again, it all means Super Bowl are nothing.

That is the new standard for this franchise.