Don’t dismiss JuJu Smith-Schuster as a potential Steelers re-signing just yet
With the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine wrapped, pro day evaluations beginning, and the free agency period about to open up, the Pittsburgh Steelers will have any number of opportunities to evaluate players they feel could be added to their roster. Every year, this period of time is usually rife with internet rumors and speculation about potential targets all 32 NFL teams are tracking, hunting, and bringing in, but the Steelers don’t need a rumor to make a significant move to their receivers group and solidify that position.
With the news that the NFL has raised the salary cap to $208.2 M per team, the Steelers are in a great position cap-wise. After restructuring with JuJu Smith-Schuster last season, only to miss him for a majority of the year due to injury, the Steelers may just make a move to re-sign the young veteran. Kevin Colbert hinted at the idea during a press conference at the Combine.
“JuJu [Smith-Schuster], we always admire. You think he’s 32 years old and he’s 26. He’s that veteran in that very young room.” – Kevin Colbert at NFL Scouting Combine (2 March 2022)
Colbert told reporters that the Steelers organization appreciated that Smith-Schuster was available to them at the end of the season and commended him for “putting his free agency thoughts aside” in order to help the team. “That was a huge step for him, but it wasn’t surprising, because he had done that previously in a previous year where he had some knee issues that he worked his way through and he made himself available to us,” Colbert added. Smith-Schuster won’t actually turn 26 until November 22 of this year.
The much-maligned receiver has had something of a meteoric rise and meteoritic fall from grace in Pittsburgh, mainly due to how NFL fans and certain analysts viewed what they felt was an adolescent infatuation with apps like TikTok. The fact that Smith-Schuster utilized those social media applications, much like other NFL players across the league, seemed to near-instantly erase the fact that he nearly posted 1,000 receiving yards (917) his rookie season (2017); ranked 22nd of all receivers in the league that year, and was only behind Antonio Brown (1533 yards, league leader) on the roster. That same season, Smith-Schuster posted the longest NFL catch at 97 yards, had a 15.8 yards-per-reception average, 65.5 yards-per-game average, and seven touchdowns.
His sophomore campaign with the Steelers in 2018 saw Smith-Schuster once again post the longest NFL reception (97 yards) and surpass Brown to jump to the No. 7 receiver in the league. Smith-Schuster logged 1,426 receiving yards (111 receptions), posted an 89.1 yards-per-game average, and again scored seven touchdowns.
During the 2021 season, Pittsburgh once again tried to get James Washington on track while Chase Claypool suffered a bit of a sophomore slump – a situation that was exacerbated by a very young offensive line that often had its personnel shuffled in order to keep now-retired quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on his feet – Diontae Johnson stepped up in Smith-Schuster’s absence while Ray-Ray McCloud was more-heavily involved beyond special teams. And, then, at the end of the season, Johnson again struggled, at times, to get on the same page as his quarterback and pull in the ball when needed.
Last year, the Steelers negotiated a one-year, $8 M contract with Smith-Schuster. The 25-year-old could test the free-agent market for the second time in two years after only seeing time on the field in five regular-season games last season. Although there is an expectation that he’d want a more lucrative deal, he turned down better offers from the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs to accommodate the Steelers last season.
Coming off of a shoulder injury and making himself available to Pittsburgh for the playoffs may have signalled yet another facet of Smith-Schuster’s willingness, however, to keep the city as his home and work out another deal with the Steelers.
The Steelers are currently looking for “the guy” at quarterback that can lead this team. Should Mason Rudolph or Dwayne Haskins step into the starting quarterback role, they’d already had a working relationship with Smith-Schuster – something that would be a boon for Pittsburgh. Smith-Schuster has shown an ability to adjust to personnel changes in the past and, even if the Steelers were to bring in a free-agent quarterback, the feeling seems to be that he’s as “veteran” at 25 than many veterans who are closing on 30.
Experience is key in building an offense around a quarterback and Smith-Schuster provides that. Potentially, he provides not only familiarity with the scheme of Matt Canada but a lower-cost option than much of the current free agent crop at receiver, some of whom also have health issues and concerns to address. His most difficult test, however, may be in how he is able to regain the adulation of the home crowd who, at times, simply wrote him off as a “diva” despite his maturity being much more obvious than some of the antics Brown displayed in Pittsburgh… and elsewhere.
Smith-Schuster certainly seems to have the support and approval of his teammates in the receivers’ room. This, too, would be a positive – or “pro” – in favor of the Steelers keeping him with the team. It’s not unheard-of to utilize a team’s own free agent to bolster a group that may have some growing pains.
If Colbert truly does have his finger on the pulse of the franchise, however, despite this being his last few weeks as the general manager of the Steelers, it’s possible re-signing Smith-Schuster has been a topic of discussion with Mike Tomlin and others on the staff and within the organization. So, don’t dismiss Smith-Schuster as a re-sign just yet.
