JuJu Smith-Schuster's return to the Steelers on a team-friendly contract was one of the bigger offseason stories for the team as he was slated to hit free agency and rumored to have fielded offers from other teams like the Chiefs and Ravens.
Whether or not those offers are real, Smith-Schuster's excitement is real to be back on a team with a talented receiving group with Chase Claypool, Diontae Johnson, James Washington and RayRay McCloud as a fifth option. He tied with Claypool for the most receiving touchdowns (9) on the team in 2020.
When asked what drove him to picking the Steelers over other teams in free agency, Smith-Schuster cited 'loyalty' to the team that drafted him and knew how to use him:
But familiarity obviously played a role, as did the unprecedented low salary cap figure for the NFL as it dealt with the financial impact of the pandemic.
"My value is my value," Smith-Schuster said. "I thought everything that happened this year was different with the cap being low, so next year with the cap being so much bigger and knowing I'll be on the market again, other teams are going to want to offer something to my value. But this year I want to make sure I go out and make my value better."
So clearly, Smith-Schuster knows this wasn't the year for him to get the mega-deal he wants as a Pro Bowl receiver who was the youngest player in NFL history to reach 2000 receiving yards and led the NFL with nine touchdowns out of the slot in 2020. And the best place for him to set up for the salary cap boom that's coming, read Dale Lolley's piece on how that impacts the Steelers, is back with the team that already knows how to use him at his best. Especially with the best quarterback he's ever played with in Ben Roethlisberger back in the fold for another season.
"A couple million it's not ...," Smith-Schuster said, stopping himself before finishing his thought about why he turned down other offers. "I get for some people its different, but I'm looking at the bigger picture for next year. I already know if I went to the Ravens fans would've destroyed me. I wouldn't have loyal fans anymore because that rivalry is big. The Chiefs have a great offense and all that, but at the end of the day I did what was best for me and that was staying home, knowing my quarterback, my team, my receiver coach, it makes next year look a lot better."
Whether Smith-Schuster returns in 2022 is too far out to tell, as he's keeping his options open.
"Me to come back for another four years and have nine years with the Steelers would be tremendous," Smith-Schuster said. "It would be unheard of from a receiver's standpoint. Don't get it wrong, Pittsburgh's definitely an option on the table and they're one of the teams with the most cap space available. But there's a lot of people are going to want to get paid. You have to play your butt off this year because you never know what will happen."
If Smith-Schuster were to return to the Steelers and play for nine years, he would be the third-most tenured receiver in franchise history behind Hines Ward and John Stallworth each playing for 14 years.
But when asked what his top personal goal is for this season, Smith-Schuster made it simple.
"Playing more outside, simple as that," Smith-Schuster said. "Playing outside you add more to your craft. Look at my year two, probably my best year I've had, I played more outside than inside. I had another threat player on the other side. We have Ben and those type of players all around."
That second year was definitely Smith-Schuster's best as he recorded 111 receptions on 166 targets for 1426 receiving yards, all of which were career highs. He lined up 564 times in the slot compared to 393 outside, as he teamed up with Antonio Brown to free him up for more opportunities.
Playing outside is also what gets you the best contracts as NFL wide receivers like Julio Jones, Amari Cooper, DeAndre Hopkins and Tyreek Hill. Smith-Schuster knows that, and after playing 798 snaps in the slot last season and only 209 lining up on the outside of offensive formations, he's looking forward to a change. But he also says he hasn't talked with Matt Canada about any plans around that yet.
"Honestly, I haven't even had a conversation with Matt about playing outside," Smith-Schuster said. "But then in practice and OTAs, he's put me outside and getting the ball, but it's not just me, it's all of us. It's Chase, Diontae, James, RayRay, everyone is going to get touches and moved around. This offense is going to open up a lot for us to make plays on balls down the field, I really believe in this offense."
Between Smith-Schuster, Claypool, Johnson and Washington are four wide receivers selected either the second or very early third rounds of the NFL Draft for four consecutive years. They represent a consistent investment from Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin to keep the group young, athletic and talented for Roethlisberger. But Smith-Schuster also sees McCloud as a reasonable secondary option in the slot to take his place.
"I want to be a security blanket when I'm on the field," Smith-Schuster said. "I do play inside and I've got it down pat, but the person who could play behind me in that is RayRay McCloud. He's a guy you haven't seen him enough in the slot because he's explosive and in practice he makes plays. You'll see him play more in the slot this year."
Smith-Schuster is definitely comfortable in the slot as he led the NFL with 103 targets, 81 receptions and nine touchdowns out of the position. His 735 receiving yards out of the slot was fourth-most in the NFL.
"But as far as third down plays," Smith-Schuster continued. "I still don't mind playing the inside or outside. We have our formations set up where we move around whether I'm F, X, wherever I'm at, it would make it tough to tell if I'm the number three receiver as a slot or playing outside. It all matters."
Beyond just from his future financial opportunities, Smith-Schuster is right that mixing up where receivers line up is an important part of NFL strategy to keep defenses guessing at alignment. It's also something the Steelers' former offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner didn't embrace, as Smith-Schuster's lining up in the slot for 79 percent of his total offensive snaps in 2020 was significantly higher than his 63 percent in 2019.
And both were higher than when he lined up in the slot for 59 percent of his 2018 snaps in Todd Haley's offense that had the sixth-most points scored and the second-most passing yards in the NFL.
Mixing it up could help the offense that hopes to be more balanced with a strong running attack and a passing attack that will be familiar with all its essential parts from 2020.
"No doubt," Smith-Schuster said about being excited to have the same receiving group as last year. "They always say that we got the band back together. We got Chase, Diontae, James, me, RayRay, and everyone's ready to put their hand in the pile. And that's on top of Ben being back and getting a great running back in Najee (Harris), we have some weapons. We still have to go out there and be better, but the chemistry's already there and we're looking forward to that being stronger this year too."
And as for Roethlisberger being back, Smith-Schuster also sees him being locked in as a difference maker under a new offensive coordinator.
"He's always asking questions 24-7," Smith-Schuster said when asked how he know's Roethlisberger's locked in this season. "Not just for myself, but for himself. The guy's been in the league in 17 years and has been asking questions that whole time. I've been here for four years, so it's like for him with 17 years to have to learn a whole new offense, it's way tougher. For myself, I have a lot of questions but he has a ton, too."
