The Las Vegas Raiders are making a serious change to their offense with the decision to sign Jimmy Garoppolo to replace Derek Carr. While the two quarterbacks are often considered to be similar, they have vastly different playing styles. Garoppolo is going to hit players for short yardage and hope they make plays with the ball while Carr liked to utilize the deep ball more often.
With a talent deficit at quarterback in the AFC West, the Raiders have decided to load up on weapons on offense. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Las Vegas is signing former New England Patriots wide receiver Jakobi Meyers to a three-year contract worth $33 million with $21 million of it guaranteed.
Sources: The are signing FA WR Jakobi Meyers to a 3-year deal with $33M with $21M guaranteed. Another NE-Las Vegas tie-in, and a weapon for Jimmy Garoppolo. The deal was negotiated by Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey.
— Ian Rapoport ()
Meyers has been the Patriots’ leading receiver for three straight years now and two of those years were under Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels. The transition from New England to Las Vegas should be simple for the veteran wide receiver. Meyers now joins an already-stacked offense of Davante Adams, Darren Waller, Josh Jacobs and Hunter Renfrow. The Raiders were supposed to have an unstoppable offense of weapons last season but the group never hit its stride. The unit should be even better in 2023 with Meyers joining the fold.
Why Spend Big on a WR?
The Raiders’ biggest needs heading into the offseason were quarterback, offensive line and defense. The team checked quarterback off the list but they still have big needs on the offensive line and all over the defense. Wide receiver was not high on the list of needs yet the team gave $33 million to Meyers.
The Raiders doubled down on offense last year while not making many splash moves on defense. That didn’t work out as the team went 6-11 and the defense was among the worst in the NFL. When the team released Carr and opened up salary cap space, the thought was that they’d use that extra money to stack up the defense. Based on the early goings of free agency, that has not been the case. There’s still plenty of time …read more
Source:: Heavy.com