Mac Jones implored the Patriots to keep Jakobi Meyers. Following New England’s season-ending loss to the Bills, Jones made the case for re-signing his favorite receiver.
“Jakobi’s one of the best, if not the best, teammates I’ve ever had,” he told reporters. “He’s a great person. He comes to work every day, doesn’t complain, does everything right, and he deserves everything that’s coming his way, so, hopefully, it’s with us. Yeah, he means a lot to me.”
The Patriots didn’t fulfill Jones’ wishes. On Tuesday, Meyers signed a reasonable three-year, $33 million deal with the Raiders. The contract includes $21 million in guaranteed money — just $5 million less than the Patriots guaranteed the ineffective Nelson Agholor.
What a diss.
It’s standard practice for teams across the league to retain their quarterback’s binkies. While the Patriots allowed several of Tom Brady’s top targets to leave over the years — namely Deion Branch and Wes Welker — they also extended themselves with other players to satisfy TB12. They brought back Danny Amendola multiple times (albeit on restructured deals), put up with Rob Gronkowski’s nonsense and signed the troubled Antonio Brown.
Jones, meanwhile, gets nothing. Meyers was the Patriots’ leading receiver over the last three years and signed a contract well below his projected total (Pro Football Focus expected Meyers to land a four-year deal worth $64 million). Yet, the Patriots didn’t extend themselves.
Devin McCourty expressed his surprise about that Wednesday on "The Greg Hill Show," correctly calling Meyers' deal an "easy contract" for the Patriots to match.
Meyers is the kind of player whom Bill Belichick usually loves. An undrafted quarterback-turned-receiver, he worked his way up the depth chart and improved every season. With Jones under center for the last two years, Meyers caught 150 passes for 1,670 yards and eight scores.
Ironically, some of Meyers’ biggest praise from Jones came following the Patriots’ joint workouts with the Raiders last summer. “He’s been one of my close friends since I’ve gotten here, and I trust him,” he said. “He’s just a tough, smart football player. I’ll take him on my team — forever, hopefully.”
Jones didn’t get Meyers forever. Instead, he got him for just four more months.
That begs the question: how much longer will Jones be here himself? The Patriots retaining Meyers would’ve been a sign they're committed to surrounding Jones with players whom he’s comfortable.
But that's not happening.
