The Las Vegas Raiders have certainly changed gears this offseason and largely focused on building a young roster under Pete Carroll and John Spytek. There has still been room for a veteran presence, however, as they signed players like Geno Smith and Adam Butler to multi-year deals.
Las Vegas' new regime also extended longtime stars for the Silver and Black like defensive end Maxx Crosby and All-Pro punter A.J. Cole. Both of these players signed historic contract extensions earlier this offseason.
There was still room to reward the team's longest-tenured player as well, so the new leadership gave longtime starting left tackle Kolton Miller a three-year extension worth up to $66 million on Wednesday evening. Now, the team's next move is painfully obvious.
Raiders should extend Jakobi Meyers in wake of Kolton Miller deal
Jakobi Meyers is still ascending in his career and is entering the final season of a three-year, $33 million dollar deal he signed under Josh McDaniels in 2023. Spytek's next move, to continue his illustrious string of decisions in his first year as a general manager, should be to extend Meyers.
Meyers has seen his targets, catches and receiving yards increase in each of his three seasons with the Silver and Black. This means that with increased opportunity, the nearly 29-year-old receiver has risen to the occasion at every turn.
He recorded his first 1,000-yard receiving season in 2024, and he achieved this on a completely inept offense that was centered around Brock Bowers. Raider Nation can only imagine what he'll amount to this season with a competent play-caller, a better run game and an experienced quarterback.
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The team invested three draft picks into young wide receivers this offseason, and most would not consider Meyers to be a prototypical No. 1 wide receiver. However, there is no denying his production, and he dropped zero passes on 129 targets last season, which is hard to argue with.
Spotrac currently has his market value at $17.4 million per year, which means a deal would likely be three years and somewhere in the $51-57 million range. That would be around what players like Deebo Samuel and Jerry Jeudy make, and just a tier below guys like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
Las Vegas currently has the fourth-most cap space remaining in the NFL this season, as well as the most in the league over the next three years. While other players like Malcolm Koonce, Daniel Carlson and Dylan Parham all need extensions as well, Meyers should be at the top of the list.
Perhaps the best aspect of Meyers' game is that he brings no drama to the field or locker room. Unlike most prototypical top receivers in today's NFL, and many of the ones that the Raiders have come across over the years, Meyers is solely focused on football and helping his teammates.
That alone should make him worthy of an extension, especially considering the climate that Carroll is cultivating in Las Vegas.