Patriots-Ex Jakobi Meyers: Warm Spin on 'Cold World'

Moving from the unforgiving winters of New England to the deserts of Nevada, Jakobi Meyers' world is about to get a lot less cold. It appears he's wishing the same fate upon his original and now-former employers as he moves on to a new professional endeavor.

Meyers, who went from undrafted rookie to the New England Patriots' top receiver, appeared to give the team a nasty parting gift upon signing with the Las Vegas Raiders. When word broke out about JuJu Smith-Schuster's new deal with the team (to the tune of $33 million), Meyers replied to the informative tweet with "cold world lol." 

But, speaking as a member of the Raiders for the first time on Thursday, Meyers clarified that he did not resent the Patriots organization for signing Smith-Schuster, chalking his words up to pixelated immaturity. 

"(The tweet) was just me being childish, for real. I love (the Patriots), but I’m also happy to be here," Meyers declared. “I just like messing with people, honestly. I just like to get under people’s skin ... Honestly, I appreciate them for everything that I’ve been through there. I never really got to say, well, I did get to say goodbye, but I never really got to tell them ‘bye’ as I was leaving the building."

Meyers was one of the Patriots' most consistent offensive weapons of the new decade, picking up 2,399 yards on 209 receptions over the past three seasons. He would've welcomed a return to New England but the Patriots opted to bring in the tenured Smith-Schuster, who's fresh off a Super Bowl run with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Signing with the Raiders proved ironic in the eyes of many considering his starring role in one of the most egregious bloopers in recent football memory, an ill-fated lateral that was taken back for a game-winning touchdown by former New Englander Chandler Jones. Meyers referred to the moment as a "humbling experience" and praised his New England teammates for having his back in the aftermath.

"As a man, as a football player, that was just tough," he said. "I knew what it meant to the team that I was on at the time. 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 the guys kind of rallied around me, it built me up as a person. Now I know when one of my teammates messes up, who I want to be in that situation, how I want to help them, what type of love and support I want to give.”

If Meyers is hiding any soreness about the Smith-Schuster signing, he won't have to wait long to let it out: the Patriots are set to return to Allegiant Stadium at some point this fall.

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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