"It's unfortunate because he's someone that has worked hard. He's worked his tail off. And yet it was going to be hard for him to catch this group of younger guys that are competing."
He became a restricted free agent after his 2017 season was wiped out by torn ligaments in his left knee and signed a two-year, $9.5 million offer sheet from the Saints that Chicago declined to match.
The Saints hoped the 6-foot-3, 207-pound Meredith would enjoy a resurgence and provide quarterback Drew Brees with a big, sure-handed target in much the same way franchise all-time leading receiver Marques Colston had done before his retirement after the 2015 season.