New Raiders WR Jakobi Meyers gives a very humble response when asked about his failed lateral in Las Vegas
FOXBORO -- One thing was abundantly clear during Jakobi Meyers' four-year run in New England: He's an incredibly humble player and person. Las Vegas fans are now learning that in one of his first days as a Raider.
Meyers was introduced by his new team on Thursday, after leaving the Patriots for a three-year, $33 million contract from the Raiders earlier this week. While it was mostly your typical free agent introduction, one response from Meyers stood out.
That response was to a question about... that play. You know the one we're talking about, Patriots fans: The failed lateral by Meyers at the end of New England's Week 14 loss in Las Vegas.
The Patriots and the Raiders were tied in the final seconds that Sunday afternoon, when Rhamondre Stevenson ran for 23 yards on the final play of regulation. But instead of going down, Stevenson lateraled the ball to Meyers, who then chucked it across the field back to quarterback Mac Jones.
That chuck didn't make it to Jones though, and ended up in the hands of Las Vegas' Chandler Jones, who trucked Jones and high-stepped his way into the end zone for a walk-off Raiders win. It was, quite simply, devastating for the Patriots, who went on to lose two of their final three games and missed the playoffs.
Meyers was asked about that play on Thursday, and the consummate professional that he is, gave a thoughtful response. He reflected on how one of the lowest moments of his career helped him grow as a professional.
"I was waiting on this. Thank you, I appreciate you," Meyers joked before getting into his real response.
"That was a humbling experience. As a man, as a football player, that was just tough," he said. "I knew what it meant to the team I was on at the time, so it really hurt me because family is really big for me. When I went through it, in the moment, my heart was broken. But days after, just seeing how guys rallied around me, it built me up as a person.
"So now I know whenever one of my teammates messes up, who I want to be in the situation. How I want to help them and what type of love, what type of support I want to give," he added.
Meyers, however, wouldn't go into what actually happened on the play. Because he still doesn't really know.
"Now, if you ask me directly what happened, I don't know! That's the truth," he said. "I really don't know. It just ... I had the ball and then I didn't have the ball. That was the end of it. But as far as growth, it taught me a lot about myself and how I want to help people in the future."
Meyers gracefully handled the situation when it happened with the Patriots back in December, and he did so again on Thursday as a member of the Raiders. It's easy to understand why he won over so many people in New England in his brief time with the Patriots.
And while he may have delivered what seemed to be a shot at his former team Wednesday afternoon after New England signed JuJu Smith-Schuster to a similar contract, Meyers said was no the case.
"I just like messing with people, honestly. I like to get under people's skin," he said. "That was just me being childish. I loved them, but I'm also happy to be here."
