Jakobi Meyers could’ve just joined the Jaguars on their flight back to Jacksonville.
Entrenched in the playoff picture after nine weeks, the Jaguars addressed their lack of receiving depth after Travis Hunter’s injury and an apparent Brian Thomas Jr. ankle issue by acquiring Jakobi Meyers — pending a physical — from the Raiders, the team announced Tuesday.
Jakobi Meyers runs with the ball during the Raiders’ Sept. 28 game against the Bears. Imagn Images
Jacksonville, which earned a thrilling 30-29 overtime win against Las Vegas on Sunday, is sending back fourth- and sixth-round picks for the seventh-year receiver, who has collected 352 yards this season and will be a free agent after the season.
It marked the first true splash of deadline day across the NFL — with Meyers also drawing interest from the Bills and Steelers, per The Athletic — after the Cowboys acquired Logan Wilson from the Bengals early Tuesday morning, and it officially ended a strange marriage between the Raiders and Meyers.
Jakobi Meyers walks off the field after the Raiders’ Sept. 15 game. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectBefore the season, Meyers requested a trade from Las Vegas amid a contract despite, and it was denied by the team — with the Raiders, at the time, not wanting to part ways with someone who had collected 1,027 yards and four touchdowns in 2024.
That wish to get traded didn’t waver after the season began either.
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Jakobi Meyers looks to make a catch during the Raiders’ Oct. 5 game against the Colts. Imagn ImagesMeyers told reporters in late October that he “for sure” still wanted to get traded and said that his window for a new contract with the Raiders “kind of just closed” when the offseason ended.
“[The Raiders] know how I feel,” Meyers told reporters at the time, according to ESPN. “It’s no reason for me to keep going back crying to them, ‘Can you get me out of here?’ If you move me, you move me. But in the meantime, I got some real people that I care about next to me, so I’m trying to make sure I’m being my best self for them.”
The thinking of first-year general manager John Spytek apparently changed just over two months later, with Las Vegas dropping to 2-6 following their loss Sunday and sitting 12th in the AFC.
So now, Meyers will be tasked with being another option for quarterback Trevor Lawrence alongside Thomas after Jacksonville placed Hunter on injured reserve last week, meaning that the two-way star will miss at least three more games.
Travis Hunter is on IR. Kirby Lee-Imagn ImagesThomas’ status also seems uncertain, though, after he appeared to tweak his ankle during last Sunday’s overtime win over the Raiders, potentially making Meyers’ addition a pressing one.
The Jaguars (5-3) are two games behind the Colts in the AFC South and own the seventh and final playoff spot, a half-game ahead of the Chiefs, whom they beat earlier this year.
