New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick didn’t answer many questions directly when speaking with media members at the NFL annual meeting on Monday.
But he did comment on former Patriots receiver Jakobi Meyers, who signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency on a three-year, $33 million deal. We could definitely nitpick the contract layout and incentives being different from the contract that JuJu Smith-Schuster signed with the Patriots, but even Meyers commented on the initial move in a social media post.
“Cold world,” Meyers posted in response to Smith-Schuster’s contract.
When talking to the media, Belichick pushed back on the idea that he sought to replace Meyers. He saw it as more of a situation where nothing was planned, and things played out the way they did.
“It wasn’t a trade. It wasn’t planned that way. It worked out that way,” said Belichick.
Belichick on replacing Jakobi Meyers with JuJu Smith-Schuster: "It wasn't a trade. It wasn't planned that way. It worked out that way." https://t.co/hrcetyfFIz
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) March 27, 2023
Belichick also talked up Smith-Schuster as a “good player” for the Patriots.
Meyers claimed he doesn’t have any hard feelings towards New England. So his tweet shouldn’t be taken as a legitimate sign of animosity between the two sides.
But this will surely be a revisited topic if Meyers somehow outperforms Smith-Schuster with the Raiders. Belichick might not have traded Meyers, but he certainly allowed him to walk out the door.
