Davante Adams is a 33-year-old receiver with a nagging hamstring injury. Can you believe it? Adams, who officially turns 33 on Christmas Eve, aggravated a hamstring injury in Sunday’s win over the Detroit Lions and could miss the rest of the regular season because of it, which is a huge blow to the Los Angeles Rams if true because they’re still only tied for the lead in the NFC West.
The Rams face the Seahawks on a short week, on the road, this Thursday in Seattle. It is not really expected by anyone that Adams will be ready for that. But should the Rams play it extra cautious and sit Adams for the rest of the regular season in the hopes that he will be able to play every game of the playoffs?
Jesse Morse, who doesn’t have any inside information or intel but has a good track record of his weekly assessments and explanations of particular NFL injuries, believes that Adams will miss Week 16 and that there’s a chance he could miss the final three games of the season if it’s a Grade 2 hamstring strain: “I expect Adams to miss Week 16…there’s a chance he misses Week 17 and 18 if it’s closer to a Grade 2 strain than grade 1.”
Do you think the Rams should rest Adams for the rest of the season and hope that they can still clinch the bye week without him?
Let us know in the comments.
It’s remarkable that Adams has led the NFL in touchdown catches during his age-32 season but at the same time it’s not surprising that at his age he hasn’t been nearly as productive outside of the 10-yard line. Nothing against Adams, especially because Puka Nacua is all the weapon that Matthew Stafford needs between the 20s, but it’s just factual that he’s only worth the $20 million he’s being paid because of what he does near the end zone.
And that’s something that the Rams will need in the playoffs: The red zone threat that Adams provides.
Adams has only caught 13-of-35 targets on third down this season. That’s right: 37%! That’s not all on Adams of course, it’s just fair to say that when Stafford throws to Adams on third down, the pass is incomplete two-thirds of the time.
He’s only completing 27% of his passes to Adams on third-and-Medium.
Shockingly, Adams only has a 42% catch rate in the red zone this season, but 12 of his 13 red zone catches are touchdowns.
Adams is also only catching 50% of his targets in the second half of games and 10 of his 14 touchdowns have come in the first half of games. In terms of getting the ball rolling, the Rams have relied heavily on Adams in the first half. It does not appear that they will have him as an option in Seattle on Thursday.
And it would be a little surprising if Davante Adams is brought back in 2026, at age 33-34, without any expectation of him being re-injured or less effective at his age.
As such, the Colby Parkinson train is starting to roll out just as Adams has left the station: Parkinson has taken over the red zone role and has caught six touchdowns in the last six games. The former Seahawk should be a featured “WR2” option against Seattle on Thursday and is likely to soak up Stafford’s attention in Adams’ absence. If it works this week, should the Rams just go ahead and shut down Adams for the final two games and hope that they can secure a bye week anyway, giving Adams a full month of rest prior to the divisional round of the playoffs?
That’s the risk you take when you sign an over-30 receiver to be your WR2. Adams was never going to be Mr. Reliable. But if the Rams play their cards right over the next three games, he could be Mr. Available.
