Jonathan Jones played out his second Patriots contract in 2022. The veteran cornerback now joins Jakobi Meyers in free agency. New England appears interested in retaining Jones, while Meyers’ expected price tag may be too steep.
The Pats are interested in re-signing Jones, Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald reports. Substantial talks do not appear to have taken place, but the former Super Bowl contributor does not profile as the top corner available in free agency like J.C. Jackson did a year ago. Meyers, however, may be the top option at his position. That stands to complicate a return to the Pats.
Meyers has engaged in conversations about staying in New England, but ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano notes the sides have not made too much progress. This thin receiver market stands to inflate Meyers’ value. Odell Beckham Jr. is the biggest name available at receiver, but the 30-year-old standout’s injury issues complicate his market. Ditto DJ Chark. JuJu Smith-Schuster and Meyers do not carry such baggage, though the former would seem a strong candidate to stay in Kansas City given his production spike when teamed with Patrick Mahomes last season.
New England extended Jones just before the 2019 season, signing him to a three-year, $21M deal. A similar accord may be enough for the Pats to retain Jones on a third contract, but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes Jones is likely headed to the open market. He would join the likes of Jamel Dean, James Bradberry and Byron Murphy here.
Murphy and Jones each bring slot and boundary coverage experience, with the latter serving as New England’s top slot option for most of his tenure. Pro Football Focus graded Jones as the No. 5 overall corner in 2020, his most recent full season as a slot player. Jones suffered an injury midway through the 2021 season but bounced back in 2022. Jones played on the outside more in 2022, out of necessity but has earned a solid reputation in the slot over the course of his career.
Still, his age (30 in September) will provide some limitations in free agency. Although the Pats are interested in keeping Jones, Rapoport tweets a franchise tag should not be considered in the equation. With the cornerback tag being $18.3M, Jones was never a candidate to be cuffed. Slot corners’ value has not come up near the point a tag would enter the picture.
Entering his age-27 season, Meyers is coming off back-to-back 800-plus-yard receiving campaigns. After the Pats signings of Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne produced inconsistency, their UDFA success story has provided some security. Meyers’ relatively low yards-per-reception totals (12.4 is his career-high mark) could cap his value, but this year’s receiver market will still put him in position to command a lucrative accord.
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