JuJu Smith-Schuster - Pro Football Rumors

Steelers’ JuJu Smith-Schuster Done For Year?

October 11th, 2021 at 3:14pm CST by Zachary Links

The Steelers expected to put JuJu Smith-Schuster on injured reserve, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link). It’s not official yet, but team doctors believe that the shoulder injury he suffered on Sunday will be a season-ender.

Smith-Schuster was forced out after a rushing attempt in the second quarter. If this is the end of the season for the 24-year-old (25 in November), he’ll finish out with 15 catches for 129 yards in five games, plus three carries for nine yards.

The wide receiver is now in his fifth pro season, but his career hasn’t exactly gone according to plan. In 2018, the former second-round pick broke out with 111 catches for 1,426 yards and seven touchdowns en route to his first Pro Bowl appearance. Then, in ’19, he recorded just 42 grabs for 552 yards and three touchdowns in 12 games. Smith-Schuster was healthier in 2020 and bounced back somewhat, finishing with a 97/831/9 stat line. When he couldn’t find the payday he was looking for, he re-upped with the Steelers on a one-year, $8MM deal.

Smith-Schuster could have inked a better deal with the Ravens and the Chiefs were also in the mix. Instead, he opted to bet on himself — that gamble may have backfired.

JuJu Smith-Schuster Changes Agents

June 14th, 2021 at 3:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

JuJu Smith-Schuster essentially tabled his free agency until 2022, re-signing with the Steelers on a one-year deal. He will have a new agency negotiating his next contract.

The fifth-year wide receiver will move from Roc Nation Sports to the Wasserman agency (Twitter link). Roc Nation had represented Smith-Schuster for years. Going into a second straight contract year, however, the Pro Bowl wideout changed his strategy.

A reduced salary cap depressed the market for most players, and Smith-Schuster was no exception. Although the Ravens are believed to have offered more, with the Chiefs entering the mix as well, Smith-Schuster opted to re-sign with the Steelers on a one-year, $8MM deal. Several marquee UFAs agreed to one-year pacts, but the cap is expected to balloon north of $200MM in 2022. Teams look set to have more money to spend next year, and more long-term contracts will likely be offered.

The Steelers will have exclusive negotiating rights with Smith-Schuster until next year’s legal tampering period, which will take place two days before the start of the 2022 league year. It will be difficult to see Smith-Schuster signing a long-term extension before retesting the market. The 24-year-old receiver was not expected to be back with the Steelers in 2021, however. Pittsburgh has both Smith-Schuster and James Washington going into walk years, with Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool signed beyond 2021.

Chiefs Finished Second For JuJu Smith-Schuster; Ravens’ Scheme Became Factor

April 9th, 2021 at 4:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Ravens submitted JuJu Smith-Schuster a better offer than the Steelers did, but the former Pro Bowl wide receiver opted to stay in Pittsburgh. Baltimore was not his second choice, either.

Had Smith-Schuster not ultimately decided to stay with the Steelers, he would have joined the Chiefs. Andy Reid continued to text images of the Vince Lombardi trophy to the 24-year-old wideout, and Smith-Schuster confirmed Kansas City was his second choice.

“I think, just seeing K.C. and bro, Andy Reid was just calling me and he was sending me Lombardi Trophy pictures like constantly. We had a good talk, so it would’ve been K.C. after the Steelers,” Smith-Schuster said during an appearance on the Michael Irvin Podcast (via NFL.com).

Smith-Schuster would have replaced Sammy Watkins alongside Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce in the Chiefs’ historically loaded pass offense. Watkins ended up signing with the Ravens, who had issues convincing acclaimed receivers to sign this offseason. The Ravens also offered T.Y. Hilton more money than the Colts did, but the veteran wideout stayed in Indianapolis. Smith-Schuster indicated Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson-centered run scheme became an issue as he considered a possible intra-AFC North jump.

“[Playing for a rival], too, and I’m curious to see how they’re going to be this year having Sammy Watkins and how they’re going to use him and throwing the ball and stuff like that,” Smith-Schuster said of the Ravens. “Lamar’s a really, a heavy run offense with the backs that he has. I just point being facts. His No. 1 target was [Mark] Andrews, who’s a tight end.”

New Ravens receivers coach Tee Martin, who coached Smith-Schuster at USC, began Baltimore’s recruitment. Jackson and John Harbaugh contacted Smith-Schuster as well. The Ravens are believed to have offered Smith-Schuster a $9MM salary with $4MM in incentives. He re-signed with the Steelers on a one-year, $8MM deal.

“Tee Martin was a coach at USC who coached me, he ended up going to the Ravens and he reached out and that’s how that process started. Lamar reached out, the head coach called, Marlon Humphrey‘s hitting me up,” Smith-Schuster said. “It starts getting serious when the players start texting you and hit you up like, ‘Yo, what’s up, bro? What we doing? Come win.’ All respect to them, and it was cool. But I think with me it’s more so staying home, staying loyal. In my situation, we have a new OC, Ben’s coming back, my relationship with my receiver coach, Ike Hilliard, is amazing. You can’t beat that.”

Reprising his role in an increasingly pass-heavy Steelers offense, Smith-Schuster will have a chance to re-enter free agency in 2022. The Chiefs, who also finished second in the Trent Williams sweepstakes, are likely still on the hunt for a receiver to replace Watkins.

Steelers Re-Sign JuJu Smith-Schuster

March 19th, 2021 at 12:26pm CST by Zachary Links

The Steelers are bringing JuJu Smith-Schuster back on a one-year deal, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The wide receiver will earn just $8MM on the team-friendly pact (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). And Pittsburgh is playing around with the structure of the deal in order to minimize the 2021 salary cap impact. Per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, Smith-Schuster’s deal includes a $7MM signing bonus and a $1MM salary, and the team is adding four voidable years so that the cap hit this season is just $1.6MM (Twitter link).

Smith-Schuster could have made more elsewhere, as Taylor Bisciotti of NFL.com tweets. The Chiefs offered him a one-year deal with the same base salary of $8MM, plus $3MM in incentives. The Ravens made an even stronger pitch — $9MM plus $4MM in incentives. Ultimately, Smith-Schuster opted to give the Steelers a home team discount.

“At the end of the day, I want to have my legacy in Pittsburgh and retire there,” Smith-Schuster said in February. “I don’t want to leave…I’m Pittsburgh for life.”

Smith-Schuster’s production tailed off over the last two seasons, putting top-of-the-market money out of his reach. Still, he drew widespread interest. In addition to the aforementioned Ravens and Chiefs, the Jets and Raiders were also connected to the youngster. The Jets wound up signing Corey Davis to a three-year, $37.5MM deal. It’s not clear if they offered a similar deal to Smith-Schuster, or if the wide receiver had interest in joining a non-contender.

Smith-Schuster, still only 24, had just 831 receiving yards last year, but there’s reason to believe that he could get back to his old form with Ben Roethlisberger back under center.

As a rookie, Smith-Schuster caught 58 passes for 917 yards and seven touchdowns in just 14 games. In 2018, Smith-Schuster eclipsed then-teammate Antonio Brown with 111 catches for 1,426 yards and seven scores en route to his first ever Pro Bowl nod. He’ll look to reprise those numbers on his new deal in 2021.

Steelers, JuJu Smith-Schuster Still In Talks

March 18th, 2021 at 11:28am CST by Zachary Links

The Jets want JuJu Smith-Schuster, but a return to the Steelers hasn’t been ruled out, according to NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo (on Twitter). The two sides are still in talks, so a deal could come together at the right price.

Smith-Schuster’s production has tailed off over the last two seasons, but it appears that he’s still seeking top-of-the-market money. Corey Davis just agreed to a three-year, $37.5MM deal with the Jets. Curtis Samuel joined Washington for $34MM+ over three years. Nelson Agholor inked a two-year, $22MM deal with the Patriots. Smith-Schuster — who is a couple years removed from a 1,426-yard campaign — is likely looking to top all of those recent receiver contracts.

Smith-Schuster, still only 24, had just 831 receiving yards last year, but there’s reason to believe that he could get back to his old form with Ben Roethlisberger back under center.

In addition to the Jets and Steelers, the Raiders are also said to have interest in Smith-Schuster. Jon Gruden & Co. just added John Brown on a one-year contract, but there could still be room for JuJu to join 2020 first-round pick Henry Ruggs III and Hunter Renfrow in the WR group.

Jets Eyeing JuJu Smith-Schuster

March 18th, 2021 at 9:59am CST by Zachary Links

The Jets have been in talks with wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The Steelers free agent would join the newly-signed Corey Davis in the Jets’ WR group.

While many of this year’s top free agents have already found lucrative deals, things have been fairly quiet around Smith-Schuster. He recently said that he’d like to stay in Pittsburgh, but it’s not clear whether a return is in the works.

“At the end of the day, I want to have my legacy in Pittsburgh and retire there,” Smith-Schuster said in February. “I don’t want to leave…I’m Pittsburgh for life.”

Smith-Schuster won’t turn 25 until November — it’s rare to see such a young and talented player available as an unrestricted free agent. In 2018, he was a revelation for the Steelers as he notched 1,426 receiving yards. But, this past season, he finished with just 831 yards. It’s possible that Smith-Schuster came into this week with outsized expectations, but the Jets could be willing to meet his asking price, which could be in the neighborhood of $15MM/year.

JuJu Smith-Schuster Wants To Stay With Steelers

February 24th, 2021 at 12:50pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

This has been an offseason of change for the Steelers as the Ben Roethlisberger era starts to wind down, with Maurkice Pouncey retiring and several other shufflings.

One of the biggest questions Pittsburgh faces this offseason is the future of receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, who is set to be a free agent. Smith-Schuster has liked some tweets encouraging to sign in various places, and there has been some speculation that the USC product could want to return home to Los Angeles to play for either the Chargers or Rams. However, the young wideout made clear in recent comments to TMZ Sports that he’d prefer to stay in Pittsburgh if possible.

“At the end of the day, I want to have my legacy in Pittsburgh and retire there,” Smith-Schuster said. “I don’t want to leave.” He was asked about the Rams and Chargers, and he rebuffed the notion, saying “not right now. Until I actually get let go, other than that, I’m Pittsburgh for life.”

It sounds like if the Steelers are willing to pay him his market value, he’ll be back catching passes from Roethlisberger in 2021. Smith-Schuster is a very interesting free agency case. On the one hand his production has dropped the past two seasons, but it’s also extremely rare for a 24-year-old with his level of accomplishments to hit the open market.

In 2018 he looked like one of the top receivers in the league, racking up 1,426 yards. This past season he finished with only 831 in the same number of games as the Steelers’ passing attack lacked explosiveness.

He did still score nine touchdowns in 2020, and was competing with a host of other receivers for targets. We heard recently that the Raiders are “very interested” in signing Smith-Schuster, so there will be something of a bidding war for his services. He won’t get top of the receiver market money, but he could land something in the $15MM annually range.

Despite his comments today, it still wouldn’t be surprising if he ends up getting priced out of the Steelers’ range. The team doesn’t have the best cap situation, as they continue to work through the problems posed by Roethlisberger’s hefty contract.

Raiders Interested In JuJu Smith-Schuster

February 11th, 2021 at 9:17am CST by Zachary Links

The Raiders are “very interested” in signing JuJu Smith-Schuster, according to John Clayton of 710 ESPN (Twitter link). The Steelers wide receiver is currently on track to reach the open market in March.

Smith-Schuster, 25 in November, seemed on track for superstardom just a few years ago. As a rookie, Smith-Schuster caught 58 passes for 917 yards and seven touchdowns in just 14 games. In his last regular season game as an NFL frosh, he took a 96-yard kickoff all the way to the house and became the youngest player in NFL history to record more than 1,o00 all-purpose yards in a season.

Then came the true breakout year — 111 grabs for 1,426 yards and seven TDs and a Pro Bowl selection, helping the Steelers make up for the absence of Le’Veon Bell. The following year, Antonio Brown was shipped out, which should have set the stage for Smith-Schuster to have an even bigger season. Instead, his 2019 was marred by a knee injury and played without the services of Ben Roethlisberger.

Smith-Schuster was healthier in 2020 and bounced back somewhat, finishing with a 97/831/9 stat line. If the Raiders don’t retain Nelson Agholor, Smith-Schuster could have appeal. Of course, between Brown and Martavis Bryant, the Raiders haven’t had the best of luck with ex-Steelers WRs.

This Date In Transactions History: Steelers Sign JuJu Smith-Schuster

May 17th, 2020 at 3:43pm CST by Zachary Links

Three years ago today, JuJu Smith-Schuster officially joined the Steelers by signing his rookie deal. The USC product had considerable buzz heading into the 2017 NFL Draft, but the Steelers managed to snag him in the second round, at No. 62 overall. All in all, the Steelers secured four years of his services for just $4.2MM, including a $1.2MM signing bonus.

Their investment paid dividends immediately. As a rookie, Smith-Schuster caught 58 passes for 917 yards and seven touchdowns in just 14 games. In his last regular season game as an NFL frosh, he took a 96-yard kickoff all the way to the house and became the youngest player in NFL history to record more than 1,o00 all-purpose yards in a season. He celebrated his 21st birthday in November, so, yes, Smith-Schuster could drink to that.

In 2018, Smith-Schuster took things to a whole ‘nother level, recording 111 catches for 1,426 yards and seven scores en route to his first ever Pro Bowl performance. With Le’Veon Bell staying home, Smith-Schuster was the talk of the town and the focal point of the Steelers’ offense, which didn’t exactly thrill longtime star Antonio Brown.

When Brown was shipped to the Raiders before the start of the ’19 season, Smith-Schuster became the Steelers’ unquestioned offensive superstar. Unfortunately, the Steelers were without Ben Roethlisberger for much of the year and Smith-Schuster’s year was marred by a knee injury, plus a concussion suffered in their now infamous Week 11 game against the Browns. It was a year that everyone in Pittsburgh would rather not think about.

What’s next for Smith-Schuster is anyone’s guess. He’s now set to enter the final year of that rookie pact with a modest cap number of $1.335MM. Last year, we expected the Steelers to be gearing up for a massive contract extension that would put him at or near the top of the market. Right now, Smith-Schuster’s best bet would probably be to wait things out so that he can restore his value. The Steelers might not be in a huge rush either – they’ll want to see how Smith-Schuster does before making a monster commitment and, even if he reprises his ’18 season, they’ll have the franchise tag at their disposal.

Steelers GM Kevin Colbert On Contract Status, Ben Roethlisberger

February 13th, 2020 at 2:37pm CST by Rory Parks

Last summer, Steelers GM Kevin Colbert indicated he did not want to enter into a multi-year extension with the team, as he prefers to take things on a year-to-year basis. Earlier this month, the 63-year-old signed another one-year contract with the club to remain in his general manager post through the 2020 campaign.

But in a meeting with Steelers beat writers today, Colbert indicated he is not thinking about quitting anytime soon. “As long as the Rooneys and the Pittsburgh Steelers want me to be a part of this organization and it’s a good thing for our family, we’ll be here,” Colbert said. “I’m not looking to ever go anywhere else again as long as the Rooneys and the Steelers are interested in me” (Twitter link via Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com).

So while Colbert may prefer the flexibility that his one-year extensions afford him, it sounds as if he will continue to lead the Pittsburgh front office for as long as the team wants him to and for as long as his personal life permits. And for good reason. Colbert joined the Steelers in 2000, was promoted from director of football operations to GM in 2010, and has helped build two Super Bowl-winning teams and 12 playoff squads over the years.

In his conversation, Colbert also discussed the status of QB Ben Roethlisberger. We heard in December that Big Ben is expected to make a full recovery from surgery to reattach three tendons in his right arm, and Colbert said today that he believes Roethlisberger’s rehab is going in the right direction (Twitter link via Pryor). The veteran signal-caller has a checkup in Los Angeles on February 21.

Colbert further indicated that the injuries that plagued JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Conner, and Vance McDonald last year would not impact their long-term availability (Twitter link via Pryor). And in other Steelers news, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets that the Steelers are expected to hire a new WR coach any day now. The team is deciding between Jerricho Cotchery and Bryan McClendon.