Regarding Mac Jones, Jakobi Meyers said, “You could sense things would go sour.”
After failing to reach an agreement with New England, the former wide receiver for the Patriots signed a three-year, $33 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders last spring. JuJu Smith-Schuster was instead signed by the Pats to a three-year contract worth around $25.5 million.
According to Meyers, the Patriots wouldn’t bend on an offer that was $1 million less than what Las Vegas had offered. In retrospect, that was a bad move because Meyers had the best season of his career. Smith-Schuster, however, found it difficult to stay on the field. He was essentially inconsequential when he was well enough to play.
The Patriots’ wide receiving corps was greatly lacking in Meyers’ absence. Despite only participating in eight games, wideout Kendrick Bourne had the most touchdowns among wideouts with four, while rookie DeMario “Pop” Douglas leads the club with 561 receiving yards.
One reason for quarterback Mac Jones’s downfall was the dearth of quality on offense. Jones was benched a few times in 2023, his debut season as a Pro Bowler, before Bailey Zappe took over for the final month of the season. Although there’s no denying that Jones had some part to play in the Patriots’ 4-13 record, Meyers is not happy with the way the franchise has treated its former first-round quarterback. He discussed the matter in great detail with Phil Perry on a recent episode of the Next Pats Podcast.
Meyers told Perry, “Honestly, man, I really don’t like it.” “And since Bailey Zappe is a dog as well, this isn’t a jab at Zap. I’m glad my child is doing well, and I like him. However, I kind of observed how that all played out with Mac over the past several years, and I feel like you could have seen that coming a few years ago and predicted that it would not go well.
“Although I dislike pointing fingers, I believe they ought to have given him a little more time because I am aware that he is in the building working. In my opinion, there aren’t many people who work harder than him. I really do hate to see that for him.”
Perry questioned Meyers about whether or not he meant that Jones should have had more talent surrounding him by the Patriots.
Yes, in order to assist him. Like skill, coaching, whatever,” Meyers retorted. “I believe that just giving him a greater chance to win would have greatly benefited their program.”
Over Jones’ last two seasons with New England, Meyers developed a close relationship with him. Could he have done anything to stop Jones’s career from going the way it has?
“I may not be that strong, but I assure you that I would have tried my hardest to assist since I know how stressful it is to play that position,” he remarked. “I know it’s difficult, that position for that team and that city at the same time. Though I know the guys in the room were doing everything in their power to support him as well, I can assure you that I would have tried my hardest to assist. He’s just in a difficult situation.”
