A former New England Patriots standout reportedly wants to leave his current team.
Jakobi Meyers met with Las Vegas Raiders officials to request a trade, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero. The two sides unsuccessfully attempted to renegotiate the wide receiver’s contract.
However, the Raiders reportedly do not plan to honor Meyers’ request.
The Patriots signed Meyers as an undrafted free agent in 2019, and he quickly earned a roster spot that summer. Meyers led the Patriots in receiving three straight times from 2020 to 2022, amassing a career-high 83 catches in 2021.
Despite his heavy involvement in New England’s offense, Meyers went 38 games before scoring his first career touchdown. He then found the end zone six times in his final season with the Patriots.
Meyers turned that success into a three-year, $33 million contract with the Raiders before the 2023 season. He tallied a career-high eight touchdowns that year and a personal-best 1,027 receiving yards in the NFL’s 27th-ranked offense last season.
A midseason trade of Davante Adams cemented Meyers as the team’s No. 1 wide receiver, and he’s slated to align with offseason acquisition Geno Smith after catching passes from a revolving door of Raiders quarterbacks in 2024. Brock Bowers and first-round running back Ashton Jeanty give the unit considerable upside under new head coach Pete Carroll.
A reunion could make sense for the Patriots if the Raiders shop Meyers. They haven’t had a wide receiver exceed 625 receiving yards in the last two seasons, and a new-look group is already banged up entering the regular season.
If Meyers stays put and bypasses a holdout, he’d return to New England and face the Patriots in Week 1.