A sour Monday night in Kansas City got worse for the Las Vegas Raiders.
It wasn’t bad enough that they blew a 17-0 lead to their division rival and have fallen to 1-4. They just had to make things worse.
Superstar wide receiver Davante Adams torched the Chiefs secondary for 124 yards and two scores on his way to a 30-29 defeat. He didn’t stop dealing out punishment once the clock hit zero, though. On his way to the tunnel, Adams was seen shoving a cameraman to the ground.
The cameraman has since filed a report with Kansas City police, and Adams is facing discipline from the league. The man went to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Adams apologized via Twitter and postgame presser, though his words were more emblematic of a drunken frat boy who insulted someone. He was kind enough to share blame with the cameraman and blame his actions on the frustration of the Raiders’ dysfunctional loss.
As far as punishment goes, it isn’t particularly likely Adams faces any noteworthy legal penalties. The league, though, may suspend him for Las Vegas’ Week 7 game against the Houston Texans.
How could an Adams suspension affect our bets?
We’re still a week and a half away from getting legitimate lines on that Week 7 contest, which follows a Raiders bye. Thus, projecting this news onto the bet slip is a little fuzzy.
If he is indeed out, the targets with the most to gain are Hunter Renfrow and Mack Hollins. Quarterback Derek Carr has exhibited a ton of trust in the former, while the latter continues to get looks downfield and in the red zone. Expect them both to become big parts of the game plan against a poor Houston defense.
Elsewhere, Adams shouldn’t move the needle too much regarding an against the spread bet. Las Vegas is likely to be favored by a touchdown, perhaps a point or two less. Given the state of the Texans and the production the Raiders have seen from Josh Jacobs and their pass rush, Adams’ potential absence shouldn’t scare you. There are still many avenues in which the black and silver can take over that game.
If the news were to break that Adams was receiving a multi-game suspension, then we can start talking about season-long props and the Raiders’ chances of finding their way out of the cellar. Until then, let’s just agree not to walk in front of Adams.
BASIC TIPS
Injuries likely mean less than you’d expect when picking a team to win or cover. Unless the injury is to a quarterback or a game-changing player like a star edge rusher or offensive tackle that will cataclysmically change each team’s game plan, you may be better off considering it negligible. Don’t let Vegas scare you off of a good bet due to one player’s absence.