Over the somber questions about the Patriots’ offense and his impending free agency, Jakobi Meyers heard the booming voice of Deatrich Wise Jr. calling to him.
“What are you going to be doing during the off-season?” Wise asked in his best reporter impersonation as Meyers chuckled and played along. “You going to be having fun anywhere? Going somewhere warm? Somewhere with water and sand?”
The Patriots’ top receiver sounds like he might, in fact, take some well-earned down time to simply relax and get away from football after battling through injuries to lead the Patriots with 804 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns.
After that, though, it’s anyone’s guess about what happens or whether the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent will don a Patriots uniform again – even Meyers’.
“Honestly, I haven’t even really gotten to that point yet. I’ve been hurt all year, so I’m mostly excited to get healthy, get a little rest, see my family,” he said. “After that, I’ll probably figure out what’s next for me.”
For the record, Meyers has said on multiple occasions that he'd like to be back with the Patriots.
But after playing on and outproducing his $3.99 million second-round tender, the formerly undrafted receiver will likely be one of the most sought-after free agent receivers on the market this off-season. Though he probably won’t reap a four-year, $72 million contract like Christian Kirk did last season, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Meyers commands somewhere in the $10-12 million range as a consistently productive receiver who seemingly keeps getting better.
Will the Patriots foot that bill after letting someone like J.C. Jackson, who was a better player at his position last year than Meyers was at his in 2022, head out the door in free agency this past off-season? New England could certainly use him as it faces plenty of uncertainty at the receiver position and doesn’t have many easy avenues to improve that group. The question remains whether Bill Belichick is willing to pay up to keep Mac Jones’ favorite receiver in town.
Even if he does stick around, what will he and the offense look like in 2023?
Meyers spoke at length about the frustration of the offense not meeting its potential, despite playing better in the season finale, and had somewhat of a pregnant pause when asked what the unit must to do to improve in 2023.
“That’s a loaded question,” he said. “That’s tough right there. It’s a lot of things. It’s hard to just pinpoint one thing and say, ‘Do this, and you’ll be better next year.’ The league could change next year. You don’t know what offenses will work next year or what plays will work. Really, as long as the guys come in ready to buy in and everyone’s just ready to do their job, that’ll be a good starting point.”
It might be a lot easier for Meyers and the rest of the offense to buy in if they have a legitimate offensive coach in 2023. (Bill O’Brien, come on down?)
Hopefully, Meyers is still around to see things get better.
