Jakobi Meyers reportedly requests trade from Raiders, should Patriots inquire about a reunion?
The Patriots will not be trading for disgruntled wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who ended his hold-in and signed a big-money extension with the Washington Commanders on Monday. But Jakobi Meyers now reportedly wants off the Raiders, opening another potential avenue for New England in its quest to boost Drake Maye's receiving corps.
Meyers has reportedly requested a trade out of Las Vegas, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero. The NFL Network duo notes the Raiders have no interest in trading Meyers, but adds Meyers and the team tried to negotiate a new contract and couldn't agree to terms.
Meyers is in the final year of the three-year, $33 million contract he signed with the Raiders ahead of the 2023 season. He broke into the NFL as an undrafted rookie with the Patriots in 2019, and New England shouldn't have let him leave when he hit free agency.
But the team -- then under Bill Belichick's control -- refused to up its offer to Meyers and ended up signing veteran JuJu Smith-Schuster to a three-year, $25.5 million contract. While Meyers thrived with a 71-reception and eight-touchdown debut season for the Raiders, Smith-Schuster was a non-factor over his 11 games for the Patriots and was cut before the 2024 season.
Now that Meyers wants out of Vegas, we'll see if the Patriots -- now with Mike Vrabel, Ryan Cowden and Eliot Wolf running the show -- explore bringing the reliable receiver back to New England.
Jakobi Meyers with the Patriots
Meyers played four seasons in New England and really broke out in 2021, when he was Mac Jones' most reliable receiver and hauled in a then-career-best 83 receptions for 866 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He was the Patriots' leading receiver in 2022, when Meyers had 67 catches for 804 yards and six touchdowns.
His big output in 2022 lined Meyers up for a big payday that offseason, but it didn't come from the Patriots. The Raiders swooped in and signed him to a $33 million deal, which included $21 million in guaranteed money.
Meyers caught on quickly with the Raiders and finished the 2023 season with 71 receptions for 807 yards and a career-best eight touchdowns. He played the first eight games that season for current Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who was also his OC in New England for the first three years of his NFL career.
Meyers set new career-highs in 2024 with 87 receptions for 1,027 yards for Las Vegas, but now reportedly wants to find his way to a new team (or wants a new contract from the Raiders). We'll see if the Raiders honor his trade request, but if they do, the Patriots should jump at the chance to bring Meyers back home to New England.