New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones had a trying season, and free agency hasn’t gotten off to such a hot start either.

After going to the playoffs and the Pro Bowl as a rookie, the former Alabama All-American led an offense that dropped from sixth to 17th in scoring from 2021 to 2022 working with a new set of coaches. An ankle injury sidelined Jones for three games, too, as the Patriots went 8-9 and missed the postseason.

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New England has brought in Bill O’Brien from Alabama to work as offensive coordinator in 2023, but he and Jones won’t have New England’s top receiver for the past three seasons running pass routes.

Wide receiver Jakobi Meyers will be catching passes from Jimmy Garoppolo next season after agreeing to join the Las Vegas Raiders when he becomes an unrestricted free agent at 3 p.m. CDT Wednesday. Meyers will be on the move for a three-year, $33 million contract, which includes $21 million in guaranteed money and reunites him with Josh McDaniels, the Las Vegas head coach who was the receiver’s offensive coordinator in the first three seasons of his career in New England.

Meyers has been the Patriots’ leader in receiving yards for three consecutive seasons. After Jones joined New England as the 15th selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, Meyers had 83 receptions for 866 yards and two touchdowns in 2021 and 67 receptions for 804 yards and six touchdowns in 2022.

During his press conference after the Patriots’ season-ending 35-23 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Jan. 8, Jones made it clear that he hoped New England could retain Meyers.

“Jakobi’s one of the best, if not the best, teammates I’ve ever had,” Jones said when asked about Meyers’ impending free agency. “He’s a great person. He comes to work every day, doesn’t complain, does everything right, and he deserves everything that’s coming his way, so, hopefully, it’s with us. Yeah, he means a lot to me.”

Of the wide receivers who caught passes in 2022 for New England, the Patriots have four under contract for 2023:

· DeVante Parker had 31 receptions for 539 yards and three touchdowns in 2022.

· Kendrick Bourne had 35 receptions for 434 yards and one touchdown in 2022.

· Tyquan Thornton had 22 receptions for 247 yards and two touchdowns in 2022.

· Ty Montgomery had three receptions for 15 yards in 2022.

The Patriots also have cornerback Marcus Jones, a former Enterprise High School and Troy standout who caught four passes for 78 yards and one touchdown as a three-way rookie in 2022. Jones also led the NFL in punt-return yards.

On Monday, New England traded tight end Jonnu Smith to the Atlanta Falcons for a seventh-round draft choice. With 27 receptions for 245 yards in 2022, Smith ranked as the Patriots’ No. 2 tight end behind Hunter Henry but did not produce up to his contract, which carries a $10 million base salary for the 2023 season.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.