The Las Vegas Raiders made a splash in free agency this offseason by signing wide receiver Jakobi Meyers. Meyers agreed to a three-year, $33 million deal with Las Vegas, joining a franchise he has never played for yet will be familiar with.
The Raiders can be referred to as Patriots-West. Their brain trust is filled with former members of the New England Patriots with general manager Dave Zeigler and head coach Josh McDaniels leading the way.
Both are familiar with Meyers and what he brings to the table as a receiver. Zeigler was part of the front office that brought him to New England as an undrafted free agent in 2019 and McDaniels was his offensive coordinator for his first three seasons in the NFL.
At the beginning of his career, Meyers had the pleasure of catching passes from future Hall of Famer and the greatest of all time, Tom Brady. Their paths crossed for only one season, but Brady had a lasting impact on Meyers.
Being an undrafted free agent, you are usually the low man on the totem pole. You have to earn your stripes in the NFL, but for Meyers, his first interaction with Brady is something that he will always appreciate. He recently opened up about that interaction while making an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show via Mike Kadlick of CLNS Media.
“I remember my first time seeing him he came in the locker room and he knew all the guy’s names, I mean I was an undrafted guy… just for him to know the undrafted player’s names… he showed love to us. I definitely appreciate him for that.”
That goes to show just how great of a teammate Brady was. There are a lot of people in his position that wouldn’t even give an undrafted free agent such as Meyers the time of day, let alone learn his name. But, that is part of what makes Brady the greatest of all time.
While knowing the name of a teammate doesn’t seem like a big deal, a lot was going on between Brady and the Patriots at the time. For him to take the time to learn the names of his new teammates, especially an undrafted player such as Meyers, is something that normally goes unnoticed. But, it was a sign of good leadership from Brady and meant enough to Meyers that he still appreciates it almost four years later.
