FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Bill Belichick always seems to have a surprise or two up his hoodie sleeve in free agency, and thus far, the biggest of 2023 has been his receiver swap of JuJu Smith-Schuster for Jakobi Meyers.
Even longtime safety Devin McCourty didn’t see it coming. Fresh off announcing his retirement last week, he said on sports radio WEEI that he was shocked the team didn’t bring Meyers back on the three-year, $33 million contract he signed with the Las Vegas Raiders. Meyers had expressed an interest in returning to New England, but the team’s offers fell short compared to others on the market, according to a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations.