3 Steelers that need to lose their jobs after embarrassing loss to Browns

JuJu Smith-Schuster is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the start of the 2021 league year. He was once considered to be Pittsburgh’s top receiver for the next decade after recording 111 receptions for 1,426 yards and seven touchdowns in the 2018 season. That made it easier for the Steelers to part ways with Antonio Brown. But the plans for superstardom never came to fruition.

A injury-riddled 2019 season limited Smith-Schuster did a number on his production, but he was relatively healthy in 2020. Smith-Schuster was significantly better this season, as he caught 97-of-128 targets for 831 yards and a career-high nine touchdowns.

Even with those respectable numbers, Smith-Schuster brought extra attention to the Steelers and in turn, motivated the opposition. It all started with his pregame ritual of dancing on the opposition’s midfield logo for the sake of posting it to his TikTok account. That caught the ire of the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals in consecutive weeks. Bills signal caller Josh Allen used it as motivation in their 26-15 over Pittsburgh, while Bengals safety Vonn Bell popped Smith-Schuster for a fumble in their 27-17 upset win over the Steelers. That was when the young receiver decided he wouldn’t perform TikTok dances on logos.

Smith-Schuster continued to put his foot in his mouth heading into the playoffs. The Browns mocked Smith-Schuster last week with a TikTok dance after they defeated the Steelers to clinch their first playoff berth since 2002. Smith-Schuster only escalated matters by calling the Browns “nameless gray faces.” That bit the wideout hard, as Cleveland quarterback Baker Mayfield and the entire team used it as motivation, as they led 35-7 heading into halftime.

The Steelers are going to be in cap hell and have players like Bud Dupree and left tackle Alejandro Villanueva hitting the open market. With that knowledge, Smith-Schuster is likely going to want a big contract. The Steelers would be better off just letting another team pay him in free agency and replace him in the NFL Draft.