Las Vegas Raiders star holds out for a bigger deal, the Golden Knights trade a key player, A’ja Wilson gets a contract extension, and more last week in Las Vegas sports (Jun 26 – July 2).
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Colin Kaepernick is still trying to get back into the NFL and isn’t very happy with his results. The former 49er is tired of getting the run around by team officials. Apparently, this is exactly what happened when he worked out for the Raiders in 2022.
“I’ve heard a lot of excuses over the years,” Kaepernick says, via Gilberto Manzano of SI, “but most of the time it ends up, ‘Oh, we’re going to see how the guys that we have do.’ With the Raiders’ situation last year, that was Stidham and Nick Mullens, which to me, you just compare résumés and capabilities, on top of the workout and the feedback, it’s like, ‘O.K., cool.’
An interesting twist is that Mullens is now a Minnesota Vikings, and Sitdham is with the Denver Broncos. Like it or not, this adds credibility to Kaepernick’s criticisms.
Reily Smith served an important role in the Las Golden Knights’ playoff run, making the decision to trade him surprising. Smith was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins after hoisting the Stanley Cup just weeks ago. This comes after he put up 26 goals, 30 assists, and six power-play goals this postseason. Captain Mark Stone even made it a point to pass the cup to Smith first when they won the Cup.
Las Vegas is also resigning Ivan Barbashev to a 5-year, $25 million deal. Barbashev finished the playoffs with six goals and ten assists in postseason play. General manager Kelly McCrimmon discussed the moves before the draft and said this:
“We think this will give us the ability to pretty much return our team in whole, so that was our objective… All of the decisions we were making were on people we just won a Stanley Cup with, so by definition, that makes those decisions difficult and challenging.”
A’ja Wilson inked a deal with the Las Vegas Aces to keep her there until 2025. Wilson earned the deal after posting an average of 19.6 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. They are also on a 15-1 run which is the best start in team history. The only team to win against them is the Connecticut Suns in a rare 94-77 blowout.
“We’re excited to have A’ja in an Aces uniform for the next two years,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “Her body of work speaks for itself — her impact on the game, on the community of Las Vegas, and with her teammates. Everybody who is around her knows how special she is, and it is great to have her remain in the fold.”
The Las Vegas Raiders have an amazing group of wide receivers, which will make the passing game fun to watch. One of these men is multi-time pro-Bowler Davantae Adams, who is one of the best wide receivers in the league.
Adams is entering his second season in Vegas, and some wonder about his future. ESPN.com capitalized on this uncertainty, publishing a piece asking if Adams would want out. That question is throwing fans into a rage over losing one of their top guys.
The Raiders are already dealing with the Jimmy Garoppollo situation, and contract negotiations aren’t going well with Joshua Jacobs either. There are now rumors that Jacobs could hold out as far as week one for a new deal. Not only is that a nightmare scenario, but it also sets the tone for a bad season.
The news comes as the organization tries to negotiate a new deal with Jacobs. The Raiders already declined his fifth-year option and now apparently want to franchise-tag him. This means Jacobs will make just over $10 million in 2023 after setting the NFL rushing record.
“The one [running back situation] that nobody’s talking about is Josh Jacobs,” Tom Pelissero told Eisen during an episode of the Rich Eisen Show. “At this point, if there’s not a long-term deal, I don’t anticipate Josh Jacobs being there at the start of training camp, and I don’t know that he shows up Week 1.”
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