Belichick Paid JuJu Smith-Schuster and Released Jakobi Meyers

By Steve Atkinson

During the horrendous 2022 season with Matt Patricia and Joe Judge running the offense, Jakobi Meyers spoke up about it and so did everyone else. But, Bill Belichick wanted his buddies to coach the offense even though they had no experience on that side of the ball. Mac Jones was coming off a good rookie season with Josh McDaniels and instead of getting a real offensive coordinator Belichick just cut and pasted Patricia and Judge to run the offense. Belichick’s ego got in the way during that season and in 2023 which is why he isn’t coaching the Patriots anymore. During the difficult 2022 season, there were issues with the coaching staff, with Jakobi Meyers and others expressing concerns about the coaching decisions made by Bill Belichick. Instead of hiring a specialized offensive coordinator,

Belichick appointed his acquaintances, Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, despite their lack of experience in that area. This decision came after a successful rookie season for Mac Jones under the guidance of Josh McDaniels. Sadly, Belichick’s reluctance to make necessary changes and his ego ultimately led to his departure from coaching the Patriots in 2023.

The Patriots knew in training camp of the 2022 season their season was in the toilet according to Damien Harris who said this recently on a podcast

We knew before our first game — we knew during training camp,” said Harris. “If anybody had anything to say about it,” Harris said, “it was (met with) a very, very quick, swift, ‘Shut the f— up. I know what I’m doing.’ And that’s it.’”

After the 2022 season, Jakobi Meyers criticized the poor performance of the offense under coaches Matt Patricia and Joe Judge. As a result, Bill Belichick decided to release Jakobi and instead signed JuJu Smith-Schuster to a three-year contract. However, Smith-Schuster did not prioritize practicing with Mac Jones during the 2023 offseason, opting for vacation instead of preparing for the upcoming season. Even during camp and the start of the regular season, he appeared to be unproductive. This decision by Bill Belichick, based on Meyers’ comments, seems unreasonable. Here are Jakobi’s statements from this offseason: After the 2022 season, Jakobi Meyers criticized the poor performance of the offense under coaches Matt Patricia and Joe Judge.

As a result, Bill Belichick decided to release Jakobi and instead signed JuJu Smith-Schuster to a three-year contract. However, Smith-Schuster did not prioritize practicing with Mac Jones during the 2023 offseason, opting for vacation instead of preparing for the upcoming season. Even during camp and the start of the regular season, he appeared to be unproductive. This decision by Bill Belichick, based on Meyers’ comments, seems unreasonable. Here are Jakobi’s statements from this offseason:

“They just wouldn’t budge,” Meyers said. “At the end of the day, [Bill Belichick] didn’t want to move. And I respect it. It’s his job to do what’s best for his team, or what he thinks is best for the team. It just didn’t align with what I felt like I was worth.”

Meanwhile, Smith-Schuster found himself at the bottom of the totem pole after Eliot Wolf and Jerod Mayo took over. Wolf prioritized the offense during the draft and selected two wide receivers. Smith-Schuster, who was deemed useless, was unlikely to see any playing time. The Patriots released Smith-Schuster on Friday, after he didn’t even play in the preseason game on Thursday.