Patriots wide receiver Jakobi Meyers led the team with 83 catches last season. He hopes to sign a long-term deal with the club. Winslow Townson/Associated Press
Patriots wide receiver Jakobi Meyers finally opted to sign the $3.986 million second-round tender the team placed on him as a restricted free agent, a source confirmed to the Boston Herald.
Drew Rosenhaus, who represents Meyers, will continue to have conversations with the Patriots about a new contract even with the one-year deal in place.
Meyers, who was the Patriots top receiver last season with 83 catches for 866 yards and two touchdowns. indicated Thursday he had hoped to sign a long-term extension with the team.
“Who wouldn’t, honestly?” Meyers said of signing an extension in New England. “It’s a great place to be. The guys in the locker room – I’ve learned more about being a man just from them than probably my whole life. It’s just been great to be around those guys. It’s a great city to be in. I’m happy here.”
For now, he will play on the one-year tender, joining a receiving corps that also features DeVante Parker, Nelson Agholor, Kendrick Bourne, Tre Nixon and rookie Tyquan Thornton.
Meyers, 25, did not take part in the team periods during last week’s minicamp and instead conditioned on a separate field. He said he’s been dealing with “normal bumps and bruises” and was simply following orders from the coaching staff.
ESPN was the first to report news of Meyers signing his tender.
BILLS: Starting safety Jordan Poyer will report for mandatory practices this week after sitting out all of Buffalo’s voluntary spring sessions because of a contract issue, a person with direct knowledge of the player’s decision told The Associated Press.
The person spoke to The AP on the condition of anonymity because Poyer’s decision is private. The Bills are scheduled to hold three mandatory practices from Tuesday through Thursday in their final sessions before opening training camp next month.
By switching agents in hiring Rosenhaus in April, Poyer informed the Bills he is seeking to extend his contract, which expires after this upcoming season.
The 31-year-old has nine seasons of NFL experience, including the past five with Buffalo where he has become part of one of the NFL’s top secondaries, rounded out by safety Micah Hyde and cornerback Tre’Davious White.
Poyer earned his first All-Pro selection in January after finishing second on the team in being credited with 91 tackles, had three sacks and joined Hyde in leading Buffalo with five interceptions each.
General Manager Brandon Beane previously praised Poyer while acknowledging the salary cap challenges the team faces this year. The two-time defending AFC East champions are projected to be about $5 million under the NFL’s salary cap following an offseason in which they signed free-agent pass rusher Von Miller to a six-year contract and with the first season of quarterback Josh Allen’s six-year, $258 million contact kicking in.
“I’m a big fan of Jordan. I think he’s done a great job here for five years,” Beane said in April, before noting Poyer isn’t Buffalo’s only player seeking a pay raise. “I want Jordan here. I’m not looking for anything different than that. It’s just business gets in the way sometimes, and I respect that.”
PACKERS: Wide receiver Allen Lazard signed his restricted free-agent tender.
Lazard hadn’t signed the tender as of last week, when he was the only Packer not to report for the team’s mandatory minicamp. Lazard will make $3.986 million this year and will be eligible for unrestricted free agency at the end of the upcoming season.
The 26-year-old Lazard caught 40 passes for 513 yards and eight touchdowns last season. He had the most yards receiving and touchdown catches last season of any player still on the Packers’ roster following the trade of two-time All-Pro wideout Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Packers had given Lazard a second-round tender in March, meaning any team signing the restricted free agent to an offer sheet would have owed Green Bay a second-round pick if the Packers hadn’t matched the offer.
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