Patriots Should Reunite With Former Receiver This Offseason

The New England Patriots are officially in offseason mode as they look to address the litany of holes on their roster in the coming months. Although there's room for improvement defensively, a big chunk of the Patriots' offseason focus must be on upgrading the offense — specifically, the wide receiver room.

After all, New England owned one of the NFL's worst aerial attacks last season, ranking dead last when it came to passing yards per game. It didn't help that the Patriots only rostered three receivers who finished with triple-digit receiver yards. Even then, none of the trio finished with more than 621.

Fortunately, the Patriots have the perfect opportunity to address their WR woes this offseason.

Patriots Should Reunite With Raiders WR Jakobi Meyers

The Las Vegas Raiders are one team that could be looking to blow things up this spring after missing the playoffs with a 4-13 record. Assuming that a firesale is coming to Sin City, it makes a ton of sense for the Patriots to contact the Raiders about veteran wideout Jakobi Meyers.

Meyers, 28, joined the Pats as an undrafted free agent following the 2019 NFL draft. The former NC State playmaker made improvements with each passing season in New England, tallying 235 receptions into 2,758 yards and eight touchdowns in 60 games across four seasons.

Following an impressive 2022 campaign, Meyers left the Patriots in free agency to join the Raiders on a three-year, $33 million contract. He's thrived in Las Vegas thus far, highlighted by a 2024 performance that saw him set new career highs in receptions (87) and receiving yards (1,027) while finding the back of the end zone four times.

Meyers will be in the final year of his contract next season, meaning the Raiders could be open to a trade if they know he doesn't plan on re-signing. He's slated to carry a $14.9 million cap hit in 2025, however, that shouldn't be an issue for a Patriots team that's projected to have an NFL-high $125.7 million to spend come March, per Spotrac.

Bill Belichick's refusal to offer Meyers $1 million more played a role in the latter joining the Raiders. Belichick is long gone, though, and the veteran playmaker has since proven that he'd be worth every penny of the contract he eventually received in Las Vegas.

At the end of the day, the Patriots need a WR of Meyer's caliber to help take the offense (and Drake Maye) to the next level. They have the draft capital to pry the former NC State product away from Las Vegas, making it an option Eliot Wolf & Co. must consider exploring.

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