Chiefs land their new playmaker in JuJu Smith-Schuster
The Kansas City Chiefs signed JuJu Smith-Schuster on Friday, landing the former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver on a one-year deal.
Persistence pays off.
After trying and failing to sign him last offseason, the Kansas City Chiefs have inked receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster to a one-year deal worth $10.75 million, according to Field Yates of ESPN.
JuJu Smith-Schuster is getting a one-year, $10.75M deal with the Chiefs, per source.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 18, 2022
Smith-Schuster, 25, is coming off an injury-plagued year where he missed 12 games due to a shoulder injury. Initially considered to be season-ending, the former USC star came back and played in Pittsburgh’s playoff loss to the Chiefs, a 42-21 decision at Arrowhead Stadium in the AFC Wild Card round.
Chiefs sign JuJu Smith-Schuster to one-year deal
For Smith-Schuster, this is going to be a proverbial shock to the system. After playing the last two years with a broken-down Ben Roethlisberger, Smith-Schuster now gets Patrick Mahomes while playing alongside a pair of Hall-of-Fame level talents in receiver Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce.
Kansas City is trying to recreate what it had in 2019, when the Chiefs won their first Super Bowl in 50 years. That season, Hill and Kelce were dominant as well, but Kansas City had a third option in Sammy Watkins, who starred in the postseason with a pair of 100-yard games, including in Super Bowl LIV.
Whether that works with Smith-Schuster remains to be seen. Last year, he caught 15 passes for 129 yards over five games. The year prior, it was 97 receptions for 831 yards and nine touchdowns. His career-best campaign was in 2018, making his only Pro Bowl with 111 catches for 1,426 yards.
Even if Kansas City gets the 2020 version, it’ll be thrilled.