It seems hard to believe, but the Pittsburgh Steelers voluntarily let JuJu Smith-Schuster walk out the door. It's the only option that makes sense when you look at the facts of the situation. Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin said the right things when they spoke about re-signing Smith-Schuster this off-season:
“You think he’s 32 years old and he’s [25],” Colbert said at the NFL Combine . “He’s that veteran in that very young room. … JuJu has been a great player for us. He’s still a young player as well, so we’ll definitely take that look.”
But now looking back at that quote, it takes a different tone. They obviously took a look, and didn't think enough to offer him more than the $3.25 million that he got from Kansas City. Now the deal was reported as a one-year contract worth $10.25 million, but after the contract details were released, it broke down more simply to a one-year deal for $3.25 million.
Only $2.49 million of the $3.25 million base deal was guaranteed at signing. Meaning that the Chiefs could release Smith-Schuster tomorrow and only be on the hook for that 2.49 million. In comparison, Robert Spillane, Dwayne Haskins, and Marcus Allen all received tender offers from the Steelers for nearly the same amount.
According to Pro Football Talk who reported more of the contract details today, Smith-Schuster's contract includes roughly $7.5 million in incentives. Most of those incentives are tied into the Chiefs reaching the AFC Championship game, and ultimately the Super Bowl. There's also workout bonuses, and weekly game bonuses that would eventually boost the base salary from the $2.49 million to the $3.25 million.
It's an easy choice for Smith-Schuster to head to the Chiefs to play with Patrick Mahomes over Mitchell Trubisky. If the contract was the only thing we had to go on, we could just assume that the Steelers offered to match that deal, and Smith-Schuster just chose to take Mahomes and the Chiefs' loaded roster instead. You could even consider that he wanted a fresh start after a challenging season. But that's where his mother Sammy Toa-Schuster comes into play. (Amazing lady let me add)
On instagram, JuJu Smith-Schuster’s mom says JuJu wanted to stay in Pittsburgh and “fought to stay” — but the Steelers wanted to go in another direction. pic.twitter.com/TA6OmKJP8k
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) March 20, 2022
She claims that Smith-Schuster 'fought to stay in Pittsburgh' and the Steelers 'had a new boyfriend in mind'. If it's true that the Smith-Schuster camp fought to stay in town, then the Steelers flat out just didn't want him. Which seems very strange, but they could've easily signed him for what he ended up with in Kansas City.
It's unclear who the Steelers would be eyeing from a wide receiver standpoint. They have a pretty large hole at the position as they sit today. It's clear they will likely draft a receiver. If they would've wanted someone else, they probably would've already made that happen. They didn't exactly sit on their hands this past week.
The Steelers need a boatload of talent in the receiver room. Smith-Schuster would've at least given the Steelers a solid top three with Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool, but they apparently just wanted other things.
Would you have wanted the Steelers to re-sign Smith-Schuster? Click to comment below!
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