The Los Angeles Rams’ biggest splash in free agency was bringing in veteran wide receiver Davante Adams to form one of the best duos alongside Puka Nacua.
Adams still has a lot of juice left in the tank and earned a two-year, $44 million contract with L.A.
The wideout had a lot of suitors in free agency, including one of the Rams’ biggest rivals in the San Francisco 49ers. According to Michael Silver of The Athletic though, Adams felt he was lowballed by the 49ers and didn’t even speak with them himself as a result:
“I was entertaining the Niners,” Adams said, “but they were like, ‘We’re paying wholesale. We ain’t paying retail.’ I didn’t talk to them, but that’s what my agent told me — like five times, that quote. And I was like, ‘OK, well, I’m not a wholesale-type dude.’”
On the other hand, the Rams were very aggressive in their pursuit of Adams and offered him a contract that reflected that. In fact, Adams said the way the Rams went after him was the most wanted he has felt in his career:
“I felt like I was on a recruiting trip again,” said Adams, who had a record-setting career at Fresno State. “It felt like high school going off to college. It was a good feeling. That was the most wanted, I think, I’ve felt in my career.”
Adams holding some dismay for the 49ers after lowballing will add another layer of intrigue to that rivalry. The Rams of course will play the 49ers twice in 2025, giving Adams an opportunity to stick it to them.
Instead of signing Adams, the 49ers wound up bringing in former Rams wide receiver Demarcus Robinson on a cheaper contract.
Davante Adams appreciated Sean McVay & Rams recruiting him hard
Davante Adams clearly wanted to feel wanted in the free agency process, and that is what he got with the Rams. He recently expressed his appreciation to Sean McVay for recruiting him as hard as he did.
“Aggressive. I’ll say aggressive, but in all the right ways though,” Adams said of McVay’s recruitment. “He sent me a couple highlight tapes of myself narrating. It was kind of [Former Las Vegas Raiders Head Coach] John Grudenesque a little bit. You know how he is with ball so he’s breaking down every single clip. The first one was like seven minutes and then he sent another one that was probably another two minutes where he’s just going through everything and talking about it. I thought he took that job to be on TV for a minute when I was watching it.
“It just shows how much ball means to him and how much of a priority I was for him and the rest of the guys here because it’s not just him making those decisions. When you have that from a coach, you’re on the free market and you don’t see it from anybody else to that level, it means a lot. It felt like I got ganged up a little bit but as long as I’m here, it doesn’t matter.”
