The New England Patriots pressed the accelerator pedal on their rebuilding effort under new head coach Mike Vrabel, signing eight new players in free agency on Monday, as well as re-signing their second-string tight end, Austin Hooper.

All told, the Patriots shelled out contracts worth $293.1 million on the first day on which NFL teams were allowed to make deals with free agent players.

Of the eight new members of the Patriots, however, five are defensive players. While defense was an urgent need for New England to address, the Patriots offense was also among the worst in the league last season.

But it was not until the end of the day on Monday that New England landed a wide receiver, in Buffalo Bills 2024 touchdown-catch leader Mack Hollins, to provide some help for second-year quarterback Drake Maye.

After a solid rookie season, and being selected by the Patriots with the No. 3 overall draft pick, Maye is expected to settle in as New England’s franchise quarterback.

But he will need an upgraded receiving corps if he is going to attain his potential.

Patriots Jettisoned Meyers After ‘Dumbest Play’

The pickup of Hollins was a step in that direction, but now according to longtime Patriots reporter and columnist Tom E. Curran, the Patriots could look to bring back a wide receiver who they signed as an amateur free agent in 2019, but then let go in free agency after a season in which he committed what ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith called “the dumbest play we’ve seen in NFL history.”

The play in question came on December 18, 2022, with the 7-6 Patriots battling for a playoff spot in a game against the 6-7 Las Vegas Raiders.

With the game tied at 24 each, and the clock showing 0:00, wide receiver Jakobi Meyers took a backwards lateral from running back Rhamondre Stevenson.

Meyers then ran with the ball up the sideline the wrong way, in the direction of the Patriots’ own end zone, and suddenly passed the ball across the field — apparently intending to connect with quarterback Mac Jones. But that’s not what happened.

The ball floated into the arms of Raiders defensive end Chandler Jones — himself an ex-Patriot — who had an open field in front of him. Jones easily ran for a touchdown, gifting the win to the Raiders.

Once the season was over, the Patriots, headed by coach and general manager Bill Belichick, were outbid by the Raiders for Meyers services.

Even though the Raiders offered him only a million dollars more than New England, the Patriots “wouldn’t budge,” Meyers said later.

Backup QB Joe Milton III Pitched as Meyers Trade Bait

Now, according to Curran, the Patriots under Vrabel have an opportunity to get Meyers back.

The Patriots Monday also signed backup signal-caller Josh Dobbs to a two-year, $8 million contract — a deal that appears to leave 2024 sixth-round draft pick Joe Milton III as the odd man out in the quarterback room.

The Dobbs signing immediately sparked speculation that Milton would be on the trade block.

“I think that the Josh Dobbs signing means that the Joe Milton flip could be imminent,” Curran said in a WEEI radio interview Tuesday morning. “Why not send Joe Milton for Jakobi Meyers? It’s an easy flip. Pick up his 10 million contract for 2025, and figure out if you want to do an extension with him. Again, Jakobi Meyers is not an elite wide receiver, but he is an 85-catch a year guy, and you know where he’s going to be when he starts his route, and he’s pretty durable.”

Meyers caught 87 passes for the Raiders in 2024, but his previous career high was 83 with the Patriots in 2021 — the last year that New England qualified for the playoffs.