Robert Kraft says Patriots shouldn't have let WR Jakobi Meyers go

Robert Kraft says Patriots shouldn’t have let WR Jakobi Meyers go

In the 2021 and 2022 seasons, former New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones’ go-to target was Jakobi Meyers, who was originally signed by the team as an undrafted free agent out of NC State back in 2019.

Meyers brought in 1,670 yards and eight touchdowns on 150 receptions throughout those two seasons with Hunter Henry (1,112 yards on 91 receptions) being the closest on the team to matching his production. Despite the numbers that the former college quarterback put up, he was allowed to leave in free agency last offseason, signing a three-year, $33 million deal with the Las Vegas Raiders.

However, just a year later, Patriots owner Robert Kraft says he regrets allowing the wideout to find a new team.

“We shouldn’t have let him go,” Kraft told a group that included Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams on an episode of “The Shop.”

Adams said that he learned a lot from Meyers in their first year together, even calling him the “best-kept secret in the league.”

Without Meyers in New England, Jones struggled to get the offense going which resulted in his benching multiple times throughout the year and his eventual departure via trade. The Patriots’ top target in 2023 was Demario Douglas – a sixth-round pick out of Liberty who finished the year with 49 receptions for 561 yards.

If Meyers had remained in Foxboro, who knows how the year would have played out? Jones could still be a Patriot. Maybe Bill Belichick could be too.