Bill Belichick claims Jakobi Meyers ‘was a priority’ in free agency

FOXBOROUGH — The Patriots will see Jakobi Meyers on an opposing sideline for the first time in Las Vegas on Sunday afternoon.

Meyers cracked New England’s roster as an undrafted free agent in 2019, ascended the depth chart, and was easily their most productive wideout during his final three seasons in Foxborough. Meyers repeatedly said he wanted to return to the Patriots, but Bill Belichick ultimately opted to sign JuJu Smith-Schuster instead.

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Thus far, Meyers’ production in Las Vegas (25 receptions, 274 yards, 3 TDs) has totally dwarfed Smith-Schuster’s (14 receptions, 86 yards, 0 TDs) in New England.

So why wasn’t Meyers — a homegrown success story who seemingly checked all the boxes — more of a priority in free agency?

“He was a priority,” Belichick said. “We talked to him.”

Did the Patriots coach think a deal was ever close?

“Relatively, yeah,” Belichick replied. “But free agency is free agency.”

Meyers agreed to a three-year, $33 million deal with the Raiders in March, and a day later, the Patriots signed JuJu Smith-Schuster to a slightly better contract, giving him three years and significantly more guaranteed money. The Patriots clearly had that money allocated for a wide receiver, and based on Meyers’ comments, simply just picked Smith-Schuster him.

“Cold world lol,” Meyers tweeted minutes after the news broke.

In a conversation with CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson shortly after signing with Las Vegas, Meyers made his decision to sign with Josh McDaniels sound straightforward: The Raiders simply “wanted” him.

“It’s hard to turn down Las Vegas. When you look at their offense, when you look at their coaches. They wanted me, I wanted them,” Meyers told Anderson. “Unfortunately it didn’t work out with the Patriots. I put a lot of effort in my time there. I appreciate them, but God works in mysterious ways. I’m blessed.”

The decision to let him walk is still causing some to scratch their heads, including Meyers’ former teammate, Julian Edelman.

“I’m still a little shook on the Jakobi Meyers departure,” Edelman said on The Herd. “I didn’t get that.(Meyers) could separate a lot. He could run routes. He was tough in the run game. He would go in and block (with) force.

“And that’s what you preach as a New England receiver: Get open, catch the ball, and block in the run game. Those are the three things you hear all the time. This receiver group we have, it just seems like they’re struggling to create separation regardless of the reason. They haven’t been able to separate.”