The New England Patriots didn’t wait long to find a replacement for Jakobi Meyers.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Patriots have signed JuJu Smith-Schuster to a three-year deal worth $33 million.
Smith-Schuster later appeared to confirm the move with a tweet that he sent out
“Excited for my next chapter in New England! I will give this organization everything I have, thank you for believing in me!” Smith-Schuster tweeted.
The 26-year-old caught 78 passes for 933 yards with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022 per Pro Football Reference. Along with three touchdowns, Smith-Schuster would have been the leading receiver in New England.
Former New England Patriots WR Jakobi Meyers Tweeted About the Signing
While the Patriots have moved on from Meyers, the same can’t be said about the wide receiver. Meyers commented on the trade saying “Cold world lol” on Twitter.
Meyers former teammates supported him. “Nah nah it was a joke come on backk haha got ya” Matthew Judon replied. Adrian Phillips also supported Meyers saying, “Gone miss you my dawg…happy the work paid off and you got that bread!!”
Mac Jones has been another vocal supporter of Meyers. He talked about his relationship with Meyers on numerous occasions in 2022.
“Yeah, Jakobi’s one of the best — if not the best — teammates I’ve ever had,” said Jones at the end of the 2022 season. “He’s a great person. He comes to work every day, doesn’t complain. Does everything right. And he deserves everything that’s coming his way.”
Back before the start of the 2022 season, Jones stated that he hoped he was teammates with Meyers forever.
“He’s a really smart football player. He’s been one of my close friends since I’ve gotten here, and I trust him,” Jones said. “We see the game the same way, sometimes without even talking about it. So we’re just working on growing together and making our repertoire a little better with what he sees, how he can help me, how I can help him. Hopefully, we can grow together.
“He’s just a tough, smart football player,” the quarterback added. “I’ll take him on my team — forever, hopefully.”
JuJu Smith-Schuster Wanted to Stay With Kansas City
While Smith-Schuster is now a Patriot, he will be sad to leave the Chiefs. He told reporters this past year that he wanted to stay in Kansas City.
“I would love to stay here, to be honest,” he said in November. “This offense is unbelievable. This coaching staff is unbelievable. If it was up to me, of course, why not? I get to play with one of the best quarterbacks in the game. So, yeah.”
Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported that New England were willing to pay more than the Chiefs to acquire Smith-Schuster.
“He wanted to return to Kansas City, that’s kind of where his heart was,” Rapoport said. “The Patriots pulled at him too, they offered more money.”
While Jones doesn’t know Smith-Schuster as much as he knew Meyers, there is no doubt that the quarterback will be getting a dangerous weapon who will look to improve New England’s passing game.
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Former Patriots WR Speaks Out After JuJu Smith-Schuster Signing