Robert Kraft still can't believe Bill Belichick let Jakobi Meyers leave Patriots

Despite the incredible success the Patriots sustained over two decades and maintaining the urgency to win throughout, many Patriots fans are still upset from seeing several impressive players leave the team over the years.

Regardless of a team's success and its ability to maintain a winning streak, it's impossible to retain a winning roster indefinitely. Bill Belichick's hesitance to pay players what they were worth has been a source of frustration for many fans, leading to the departure of several key players in free agency.

One of the more recent names that continue to bother those in New England is Jakobi Meyers, who had become the team's best offensive player during their most struggling years.

Jakobi Meyers, an undrafted receiver, joined the Patriots in 2019. Within a year, he proved his value, becoming an integral part of the offense, a feat he has primarily attributed to Cam Newton. He continued to shine over the next two years, leading the team in receptions, yards, and touchdowns in 2022.

He became Mac Jones's most trusted target on game day, seemingly earning a new contract because of it. However, once he hit free agency in 2023, it was clear Belichick had no interest in keeping him around, which ultimately led to Meyers signing with the Raiders.

To make matters worse, the Patriots went on to sign JuJu Smith-Schuster to a nearly identical contract to the one Meyers received from Las Vegas. So, the assumption that Belichick was unwilling to pay Meyers his worth was thrown out the window.

It has been labeled one of the worst decisions made by the legendary head coach during his Patriots' tenure, even more so given how Smith-Schuster has been a bust thus far, and Meyers went on to have an impressive first year in the desert.

And apparently, Patriots fans aren't the only ones who have been feeling this way.

Robert Kraft doesn't appear to have forgiven Bill Belichick for another player's departure

On a new episode of The Shop, Raiders receiver Davante Adams discusses things he's learned over the years from other players and brings up how much Meyers has taught him since he signed with the team.

At just the mere mention of Meyers' name, Robert Kraft, who was also part of the episode, immediately says, "We shouldn't have let him go," to which Adams agrees and says he has a lot to say about that.

In that moment, Kraft echoed what many Patriots fans have felt over the past year.

Meyers had become a fan favorite despite his quiet demeanor and underrated talent. They had seen the rise of his stardom since the beginning and saw him thrive once he was finally given a proper opportunity and had his confidence restored.

It looked like the team had finally found the reliable WR1 that had evaded them for so long, only for Belichick to decide he would rather sign an injured Smith-Schuster instead.

This could be Kraft's latest moment to shade the former Patriots coach since some feel he's done a lot of that lately. Or he could actually feel regretful about Meyers' departure. It's probably somewhere in the middle, and hopefully, this won't be a common practice under the new regime.

More Patriots coverage: