After Bill Belichick left the Patriots, the team decided to re-sign some of the players he acquired, which made Belichick look good from a personnel evaluation perspective.
New England’s latest trade doesn’t do that.
By firing receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster after one season, the Patriots admitted that Belichick made a mistake by giving Smith-Schuster $16 million guaranteed, $7 million of which is due to him in salary in 2024.
Compounding the mistake is the fact that before signing Smith-Schuster, Belichick opted not to retain receiver Jakobi Meyers, a player Belichick signed as an undrafted free agent in 2019.
Meyers wanted to stay. Negotiations stalled over $1 million on a three-year deal. So he signed with the Raiders. And the Patriots signed Smith-Schuster.
Yes, Smith-Schuster was cheaper; he signed for $25 million over three years and Meyers got $33 million over three from the Raiders. But the Raiders also had 71 catches for 807 yards and 10 touchdowns last year. JuJu produced 29 catches for 260 yards and one touchdown.
And now Smith-Schuster is available to any team that wants him.
No personnel executive is perfect. As far as Belichick is concerned, his coaching often made up for his scouting mistakes. Particularly at receiver, where the Patriots struggled to draft and develop young players under Belichick. In Belichick’s final year with the team, they failed to reward an internal success story, opting instead for a fresh face who, after one season, flopped.
