Former Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster's Knee Could 'Explode At Any Point'

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been known to find incredible success when it comes to drafting wide receivers. It is even more impressive that a majority of their starters at the position in the 21st century weren't even drafted in the first round by the organization. Plaxico Burress (2000) and Santonio Holmes (2006) are the only two pass catchers selected by the franchise in the first round since 2000. The most notable steal is snagging Antonio Brown in the sixth round back in 2010, but Antwaan Randle El, Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders, Diontae Johnson and most-recently, George Pickens and Calvin Austin III were all taken outside of the first 32 selections in their respective drafts.

Another wideout who had a ton of success early in his career was former second-rounder, JuJu Smith-Schuster. His first two seasons in the NFL were his best from a production standpoint. Smith-Schuster was named the Steelers team MVP after hauling in 111 catches for 1,426 yards and seven touchdowns in his second year.

After Brown left Pittsburgh, however, his old partner-in-crime saw a serious dip in all statistical categories. The 2020 season was his best without Brown in the Steel City as he caught nine touchdowns through the air. After an injury-laden 2021, he would move on to play for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022 and win a Super Bowl. He had the second-most receiving yards of his career with 933 yards and three touchdowns.

Smith-Schuster played on back-to-back one-year contracts and finally got the pay day he had been wanting since his rookie contract expired. The New England Patriots were able to sign him to a three-year, $33 million deal in the 2023 offseason. He will now play under Bill Belichick with Mac Jones as his quarterback after being a target for Ben Roethlisberger and Patrick Mahomes.

Smith-Schuster has been no stranger to health issues throughout his NFL career. He has only played 16 games in three of his six seasons and most recently dealt with a knee injury that he suffered in the AFC Championship Game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The last thing the Patriots need is that lingering into 2023. Smith-Schuster needed to pass a physical to officially sign his deal, but not everyone is sold on the knee being 100%.

Albert Breer, an analyst for NBC Sports Boston, was recently talking about the Patriots roster make-up and said that a hidden storyline behind the scenes is the wide receiver position on the depth chart. He is not buying into the fact that Smith-Schuster is healthy.

“The underrated story here: JuJu Smith-Schuster’s knee is a mess, and that thing could explode at any point. So, you almost have to keep an extra receiver because of that,” Breer said.

It's hard to imagine Belichick going out and bringing in the veteran wide receiver if his knee were in bad shape. Smith-Schuster is at the top of the depth chart for New England's rocky wide receiver situation.

Smith-Schuster was asked about Breer's comments not too long after the interesting words were spoken. The wide receiver is not worried about his health and there are no issues in regards to his knee, he told reporters.

“I don’t think my knee is a ticking time bomb. If anything, it’s something that’s getting stronger every day.”

Smith-Schuster was paid by the Patriots to be the go-to-guy in the passing game. He won't be able to do that from the sideline, so fans in New England better hope that Breer is wrong and Jones's number one target is ready to play a full season that sees him catch 80 or more passes.

Do you think that Smith-Schuster's injury history should be concerning for the Patriots faithful? Let us know in the comments below!

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