New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft didn’t shy away from admitting the team made a mistake by letting Jakobi Meyers walk in free agency in 2023.
Meyers spent the first four seasons of his career with New England, before becoming an impact player for the Las Vegas Raiders. He recorded 71 receptions for 807 yards and eight touchdowns last season, after signing a three-year, $33 million dollar contract with Las Vegas.
By comparison, New England signed wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster to the same base contract last year. Smith-Schuster struggled in a year where he recorded only 29 catches for 260 yards and a touchdown.
Kraft appeared on “The Shop” with Paul Rivera and Maverick Carter. Davante Adams was a guest on the show and brought up Meyers, which prompted the admission from Kraft, as transcribed by NESN.com’s Sean T. McGuire.
“The thing is, I’m learning in so many different ways,” said Adams. “Like I’m learning from new guys, like I’m learning from Jakobi (Meyers) this year like so much that I didn’t know before.”
Kraft interrupted: “We shouldn’t have let him go.”
One has to wonder how things would have turned out if Meyers stayed in New England.
Inconsistent quarterback play would probably have hampered his production. However, familiarity would have been an asset for a Patriots wide receiver unit that struggled greatly last season.