Jakobi Meyers is an undrafted, young homegrown talent who's become one of the best players on the Patriots. And yet it remains easy to envision New England's best receiver playing elsewhere next season.
Meyers, 25, is set to hit free agency this offseason. The fourth-year pro's unsettled contract status likely factored into his surprising inclusion on the NFL rumor mill ahead of last Tuesday's trade deadline.
But what kind of contract could Meyers fetch in free agency? While a very good player, Meyers might be someone who's more valuable in New England than anywhere else. His cerebral approach to the game also could translate anywhere.
Ahead of the Patriots' 26-3 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday in Foxboro, Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer speculated about the kind of contract that Meyers could be looking for.
"There's very clear value internally for Jakobi Meyers," Breer said during NBC Sports Boston's pregame coverage. "I think there's another player who this sort of marries up with as far as free agency goes and value goes. And that's Cedrick Wilson, who came up in the Cowboys system similarly to how Jakobi Meyers has come up here. Wilson just kept getting better and better and more reliable over the years. The Cowboys wound up letting him go after last season; he winds up signing in Miami getting a three-year, $22.5 million contract. So, I think that's right around the ballpark of what Jakobi Meyers is looking at for a similar player.
"I think he's similar to Wilson. I think that's the sort of deal that Jakobi Meyers is going to be looking at."
Meyers, who missed two games earlier this season due to a knee injury, has 40 catches for 457 yards and three touchdowns through nine weeks. Despite the injury absences, he still has a chance at surpassing his career-highs of 83 catches and 866 yards, both of which he set last season.
Should Meyers approach 100 receptions and/or 1,000 receiving yards, he just might price himself out of New England. That said, the contract floated by Breer seemingly would be an attractive and affordable one for the Patriots.
It's worth noting that New England has a history of working out contract extensions during bye weeks. We'll have to wait and see whether the Patriots do something similar with Meyers over the next two weeks.
