Current:Home > MarketsChiefs bringing JuJu Smith-Schuster back to loaded WR room – but why? -Thrive Success Strategies
Chiefs bringing JuJu Smith-Schuster back to loaded WR room – but why?
EchoSense View
Date:2025-04-10 21:59:42
The Kansas City Chiefs are adding veteran depth to a position where they don't seemingly need it – at least not in the long run.
Nevertheless, former Pro Bowl wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster is returning to the two-time defending titlists – he played for the Super Bowl 57 champions during the 2022 season – according to multiple reports. He caught 78 balls for 933 yards and three touchdowns in 16 games that year.
Smith-Schuster, 27, was released earlier this month by the New England Patriots, for whom he played in 2023, snagging 29 receptions for 260 yards and one score in seven games.
"We just want him to get healthy," Pats rookie coach Jerod Mayo said at the time of Smith-Schuster's departure, explaining the team's rationale and his poor 2023 campaign.
"He still has some good ball left in him."
All things Chiefs: Latest Kansas City Chiefs news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.
He signed a three-year, $25 million contract with the Patriots in 2023. Already owed $7 million for 2024 by New England, Smith-Schuster would collect the veteran's minimum ($1.2 million) from K.C. if he sticks this year, and the Pats would pony up the balance of his salary.
He spent his first five seasons, including his 2018 Pro Bowl campaign – opposite All-Pro wideout Antonio Brown – with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who drafted Smith-Schuster in the second round in 2017 out of USC. However he's never approached his 2018 career benchmarks (111 catches, 1,426 yards) since.
So why do the Chiefs need an aging, possibly declining, player coming off an injury-curtailed season?
▶ One of their most notable offseason acquisitions, receiver Marquise "Hollywood" Brown, suffered a sternoclavicular injury Aug. 10 that may cost him another month.
▶ Rashee Rice, the Chiefs' WR1 as a rookie (79 catches for 938 yards and a team-high 7 TD receptions) is likely to face NFL discipline at some point after notoriously being involved in a six-car crash in Dallas, where he was driving a Lamborghini nearly 120 mph, according to police. Rice is facing one count of aggravated assault, one count of collision involving serious bodily injury and six counts of collision involving injury. However the league doesn't typically mete out suspensions until the legal process has concluded.
▶ Kansas City selected speed receiver Xavier Worthy, who posted a record 4.21-second 40-yard dash at the scouting combine this year, in the first round of the draft. But the Chiefs have several other players competing for roster spots at a position where most clubs run five or maybe six deep. Skyy Moore, Kadarius Toney – both have been generally disappointing during their tenures with the team – Justin Watson, Justyn Ross and Super Bowl 58 hero Mecole Hardman all seem to be in the mix for the remaining slots, though one could open up if Brown goes on injured reserve or Rice is punished.
The Chiefs open their title defense at Arrowhead Stadium against the Baltimore Ravens, whom they beat in the 2023 AFC championship game, in the league's 2024 regular-season kickoff game Sept. 5.
***Follow USA TODAY Sports' Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter, @ByNateDavis.
veryGood! (4756)
Related
- Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
- Mamie Laverock Leaves Hospital 3 Months After Falling Off Five-Story Balcony
- US Justice Department to investigate violence and sexual abuse at Tennessee’s largest prison
- Georgia sheriff’s deputy shot while serving a search warrant
- Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
- Woman who faced eviction over 3 emotional support parrots wins $165,000 in federal case
- Video shows Waymo self-driving cars honking at each other at 4 a.m. in parking lot
- Taylor Swift Meets With Families Affected by Stabbing Attack at Event in England
- Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
- Dolphins’ Tagovailoa says McDaniel built him up after Flores tore him down as young NFL quarterback
Ranking
- Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
- The top 10 Heisman Trophy contenders entering the college football season
- Ford, General Motors among 221,000 vehicles recalled: Check car recalls here
- Ruth Johnson Colvin, who founded Literacy Volunteers of America, has died at 107
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- Republicans are central in an effort to rescue Cornel West’s ballot hopes in Arizona
- Settlement reached in D'Vontaye Mitchell's death; workers headed for trial
- Haitian ex-President Martelly hit with U.S. sanctions, accused of facilitating drug trade
Recommendation
Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
Charli XCX Is Very Brat, Very Demure in Kim Kardashian’s Latest SKIMS Launch— Shop Styles Starting at $18
Meghan Markle Shares How Her and Prince Harry’s Daughter Lilibet “Found Her Voice”
As viewers ask 'Why is Emily in Paris only 5 episodes?' creator teases 'unexpected' Part 2
The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
Jake Shane's popularity skyrocketed overnight. So did his anxiety.
Yes, cashews are good for you. But here's why it's critical to eat them in moderation.
What happened to the Pac-12? A look at what remains of former Power Five conference