Raiders' Jakobi Meyers on trade request: 'I asked, they said no'

Vincent Bonsignore, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Sep 3, 2025

Published in Football

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LAS VEGAS — Wide receiver Jakobi Meyers, frustrated by the lack of progress on a new contract, is not backing off his trade request.

The Raiders, however, appear in no mood to oblige him days away from their season opener against the Patriots on Sunday.

“I asked, they said no,” Meyers said Wednesday. “That’s where that stopped.”

Meyers, 28, made his first public comments Wednesday since asking the Raiders for a move on Aug. 25. He is entering the final season of the three-year contract he signed with the team in March 2023.

Talks on a new deal have not progressed, so Meyers wants out. He said that won’t affect his play this year and he is prepared to stick things out if the Raiders decide to keep him.

“I’m ready to go if you want me to go,” Meyers said. “I’m ready to play if you need me to play.”

Meyers enters the season as the Raiders’ No. 1 wide receiver after catching 87 passes for a career-high 1,027 yards last year. But he’s uncertain about what the future holds.

“I’m just gonna keep doing my job until something shakes out either way,” Meyers said.

Meyers is scheduled to make $10.5 million in base salary this year. Thirty NFL wide receivers have contracts with an average annual value higher than that, according to the website Over The Cap.

The Raiders have also taken care of several other players this offseason ahead of Meyers. Quarterback Geno Smith, edge rusher Maxx Crosby, left tackle Kolton Miller and punter AJ Cole have all inked extensions in recent months.

Meyers is one of the Raiders’ top pending free agents, along with kicker Daniel Carlson. The team is projected to have $95.6 million in cap space next offseason.

Meyers didn’t provide a direct answer when asked if he was happy to be in Las Vegas.

“It’s a job. At the end of the day I’m happy to be doing my job with my boys,” he said. “But I can be happy anywhere.”

Not giving in

Meyers plans to play Sunday in New England, where he spent the first four seasons of his NFL career.

He had 235 receptions for 2,758 yards and eight touchdowns in 60 games for the Patriots, then reached another level with the Raiders. He has 158 catches for 1,834 yards and 12 touchdowns in 31 appearances in Las Vegas.

Meyers, because of all he’s accomplished with the Raiders, doesn’t plan to quit fighting for a new contract.

“For me, it don’t stop,” Meyers said. “Like, I’m still pushing to take care of my family every day.”

Meyers even joked he’s just following first-year coach Pete Carroll’s instructions. The Raiders now have the words “Always Compete” at the entrance to their Henderson practice facility.

“Pete said compete,” Meyers said. “That’s what I’m doing.”

The Raiders, for their part, seem confident they’ll still get the best version of Meyers this season despite the trade request.

He would leave behind a huge void if he was dealt. The team signed veteran Amari Cooper as a free agent last week, but its other wide receivers are third-year pro Tre Tucker and rookies Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton Jr.

“Jakobi is a consummate professional,” general manager John Spytek said last week. “I think he really values being a Raider. He has a lot of respect for this game, and I think he only knows how to go about it one way, which is to give his best when he’s out there.”