How Bill Belichick Explained Patriots Not Re-Signing Jakobi Meyers

FOXBORO, Mass. -- Why will Jakobi Meyers be playing against the Patriots this Sunday rather than for them?

According to Bill Belichick, it wasn't for lack of trying on New England's end.

Ahead of the Patriots' Week 6 matchup with Meyers' new team, the Las Vegas Raiders, Belichick insisted re-signing the team's leading receiver from the past three seasons was a "priority" for New England.

"Yeah, he was a priority," Belichick said Wednesday morning. "We talked to him."

Asked whether the sides ever were close to reaching a deal, Belichick replied: "Relatively. But free agency is free agency."

The Patriots opted to sign JuJu Smith-Schuster to a three-year, $25.5 million contract that included $16 million guaranteed and an additional $7.5 million available through incentives. Meyers tweeted "Cold world lol" after Smith-Schuster's signing was reported, then signed with Las Vegas on a three-year, $33 million deal with $21 million guaranteed.

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Meyers, whose 2024 guarantees don't kick in until March, later said he "definitely wanted to stay" in New England. Longtime teammate Devin McCourty criticized the move at the time, saying he was "shocked" the Patriots did not retain such a productive and respected homegrown player.

Many within the Patriots organization likely share that sentiment now.

Smith-Schuster, who was supposed to provide more explosiveness and run-after-catch ability than Meyers possessed, is off to a miserable start in Foxboro, totaling just 14 catches for 86 yards and no touchdowns in five games before leaving Sunday's blowout loss to New Orleans with a head injury.

Meyers, meanwhile, immediately became one of the top targets for ex-Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in Vegas. He has 25 receptions for 274 yards and three scores despite missing one game with an injury and playing another with a rookie fill-in QB (Aiden O'Connell, who started in place of a concussed Garoppolo in Week 4).

Stats through five weeks:

JuJu Smith-Schuster
193 snaps (58% when active)
25 targets
14 catches
86 yards
No touchdowns
Yards per catch: 6.1
Yards per target: 3.4
First downs/touchdowns: four

Jakobi Meyers*
240 snaps (90% when active)
36 targets
25 catches
274 yards
Three… https://t.co/hJ2ZchsT5e

— Zack Cox (@zm_cox) October 10, 2023

Julian Edelman this week joined McCourty in second-guessing Belichick, saying he's "still a little shook" over Meyers' departure and knocked New England's current wideouts for their lack of separation.

"I mean, he was a free agent, and he signed with the Raiders," Belichick said Wednesday. "There's a lot of guys who leave and change teams in free agency. But yeah, Jakobi looks like he looked here."

Smith-Schuster still was in concussion protocol as of Tuesday, putting his status for Sunday in doubt. Meyers will look to show his former team what it's missing when the 1-4 Patriots and 2-3 Raiders kick off from Allegiant Stadium at 4:25 p.m. ET.