Jakobi Meyers had a breakthrough season in 2024, but the Raiders have been slow to negotiate a new deal with Meyers in recent months and there is chance the team’s no. 1 wide receiver will have a new home before the NFL’s November 4 trade deadline.
Meyers hasn’t been a disappointment in 2025, but he is in the final year of a three-year deal and the Raiders haven’t looked like a playoff team in the first six weeks of the season.
Additionally, it sounds like third-year wide receiver Tre Tucker is emerging into a role not many were predicting going into the season.
Last week, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly made a big statement about Tucker, and it went largely under the radar with everything else that was dominating headlines around the team at the time.
“He’s been great, and I think he’s probably our best practice player,” Kelly said of Tucker, with no other qualifying statement.
“We always talk about you sync to your level of training. And he trains at such a high level, he’s playing at such a high level. And it’s a great point for all, especially our young players, that you can kind of point out that what you see out of Tre every day, and holy smokes, when you look at the GPS numbers and what he’s running in practice and doing, and then all of a sudden you turn on the tape and he’s doing the same exact thing,” Kelly continued.
“He’s got these three or four passes over 20, getting behind people, but that’s what he does in practice, also. He’s kind of that what you want to show as a guy, like this is how you practice, that means this is how you’re going to play. And he’s a great example of that.”
On Sunday, Tucker led the Raiders in receptions (5) and receiving yards (70), and CBS analyst Jonathan Vilma made an interesting claim about Tucker after a 37-yard reception in the fourth quarter.
“That connection… between Geno [Smith] and Tre Tucker, he is their no. 1,” Vilma said on the CBS broadcast during Sunday’s game. “Jakobi Meyers, Chip Kelly may tell me that, but Jakobi Meyers is not no. 1, it’s Tre Tucker. Geno has a favorite guy and that’s him.”
With Tucker outproducing Meyers in the first six games of the season, the chances of Meyers getting a new deal from the Raiders has taken a significant hit. Tucker still has another year remaining on his rookie deal, and the team is heavily invested in wide receivers Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton, who they drafted this year.
Unless the landscape of the wide receiver room in Las Vegas changes or the Raiders are suddenly in the mix for the playoffs, don’t be surprised if Meyers lands with a new in the next three weeks.
x: @raidersbeat
If they’re still trying to win games, trading Jakobi Would be a tragic error. I agree he’s gone next season. So the smart move would be to get a pick for him. I like the guy, but he isn’t worth 20 million a year or more.
It’s nice to see Tucker stepping his game way up.
CJ Gardner-Johnson released today. Raiders should sign him.
J.Meyers isn’t a #1, he’s a solid #2. With the Raiders now he’s not that guy because the #1 has been hurt since game 2. Tre can run fast and is OK but he’s not a #1 either. Again that guy is hurt and only got worse thanks to the non leadership sitting him down when he was hurt. We aren’t going anywhere this except another top 10 pick so if they can get 3 or 4 send Meyers away and let the rookies play. Whatever we’d get as a comp pick will just be wasted by the front office led by Tommy