Davante Adams opens up on history with Aaron Rodgers, transition to playing with Matthew Stafford

Davante Adams has spent the bulk of his career catching passes from Aaron Rodgers. One future Hall of Famer to another, the two formed one of the strongest connections in recent NFL history during their time together with the Green Bay Packers and the New York Jets.

But at the conclusion of the 2024 season, New York cut ties with both Rodgers and Adams. That led the 32-year-old wideout back to his home state of California, a chance to play with another potential Hall of Fame quarterback in Matthew Stafford. Adams signed a two-year, $46 million deal with the Los Angeles Rams.

Adams, speaking on the Monday Night Football “ManningCast,” told Peyton Manning and Eli Manning that it was tough to gain an immediate chemistry with Stafford, who battled a back injury throughout training camp. Now seven games into the season, that connection looks like one of the best in the league.

“It’s been going on so long that it’s almost hard to wrap your head around that it took as long as it did for us to get to a point where we were really flying around and doing what everybody got accustomed to us doing,” Adams said. “It’s even hard for me to come in now as somebody who has a lot of experience and our quarterback has even more than I do. You come in expecting to have a certain product, but the reality is it takes a lot of work and a lot of time to get on the same page.

“Obviously, he was battling an injury throughout camp, so we didn’t have some of that time to get on the same page. Some of that came throughout the course of the season. I wouldn’t say we were as efficient as I would have liked until a couple weeks ago, but just some of that work and even those game reps, we got to a much better place now where we kind of learned each other and we’re a lot more comfortable playing on the field together.”

Davante Adams continuing to produce in 12th season

This season, Adams has 31 receptions for 431 yards and six touchdowns. The last time the Rams took the field — Week 7 in London against the Jacksonville Jaguars — Stafford found him in the end zone three times.

With fellow Pro Bowl wide receiver Puka Nacua (ankle) set to return in Week 9, Los Angeles will once again have its full complement of weapons on the field together. That should make the Rams — 5-2 — even more dangerous in the second half of the season.