FOXBORO — Jakobi Meyers was completely satisfied to be again at Gillette Stadium for the primary time as a Patriots opponent, however he wished he’d gotten to face a full-strength New England secondary.
The previous Patriots large receiver mentioned he was disenchanted that star cornerback Christian Gonzalez was unable to play in Sunday’s season opener as he nursed a nagging hamstring damage.
“I needed the chance to go towards the most effective, so I needed him to be on the market,” Meyers mentioned after his Raiders defeated his previous workforce 20-13. “I hope he will get effectively quickly, actually, for the workforce’s sake. However it don’t change a lot for me.”
Carlton Davis III, Alex Austin and slot man Marcus Jones had been New England’s high cornerbacks for the Week 1 matchup, they usually had a tricky time protecting the slippery Meyers, who caught eight of his 10 targets for 97 yards.
Meyers, whose Patriots tenure ended after the workforce selected to signal JuJu Smith-Schuster over him in 2023, mentioned he didn’t have any “added incentive” to carry out towards his former squad. However he did take pleasure in returning to the world the place he spent his first 4 NFL seasons. He had a number of members of the family in attendance.
“It’s like bringing your pals dwelling,” Meyers mentioned. “It was cool to simply convey them right here, see the place I began out. Now we return to Vegas and prepare for the subsequent one.”
Earlier than the sport, Meyers caught up with a few of his ex-Patriots teammates — the few which are left after new head coach Mike Vrabel revamped New England’s roster this previous offseason. Simply eight gamers from Meyers’ closing Patriots workforce in 2022 are nonetheless with the franchise: Jones, Rhamondre Stevenson, Hunter Henry, Kyle Dugger, Anfernee Jennings, Mike Onwenu, Christian Barmore and Jahlani Tavai.
“What I’m studying is that’s the NFL, sadly,” Meyers, who requested a commerce from the Raiders this summer season however was denied, mentioned of the Patriots’ turnover. “It’s a younger man’s league, so all of us develop up sooner or later and sort of transfer round. However for the blokes which are nonetheless right here, I’m extraordinarily pleased with them. They performed exhausting, performed effectively, I assumed, for my part, and it was simply actually good to see them. I’m simply so pleased with them, actually.”
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