BOSTON — A day after losing their best receiver, the Patriots have a new No. 1 target.
According to a source, free-agent wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster is expected to sign with Patriots on a 3-year, $33 million deal, per the NFL Network.
Smith-Schuster, 26, is coming off a rebound season in Kansas City, where he caught 78 passes for 933 yards and three touchdowns last year. His addition will help offset the loss of Jakobi Meyers, who left to sign a 3-year deal with the Raiders on Tuesday. Smith-Schuster would jump to the top of the Pats’ receiver depth chart, joining DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne and Tyquan Thornton.
Shortly after the deal was reported, Smith-Schuster tweeted: “Excited for my next chapter in New England! I will give this organization everything I have, thank you for believing in me!”
Smith-Schuster started his career with a five-year stint in Pittsburgh. The Steelers selected him in the second round of the 2017 draft, and he made the Pro Bowl in 2018 after setting a career high with 1,426 receiving yards. Since then, he’s topped 800 yards just twice, though he scored nine touchdowns on 97 catches in 2020 and was limited to five games due to injury the following year.
His final season in Pittsburgh prompted a one-year, prove-it deal with the Chiefs, which carried a base value of $3.76 million and maximum value of more than $11 million. Smith-Schuster finished second in receiving for Kansas City and averaged 9.2 yards per target, most among their top targets. He also finished with a team-high seven catches for 53 yards in Super Bowl LVII.
Smith-Schuster last faced the Patriots in the team’s 2019 season opener, which Pittsburgh lost 33-3. He finished with six catches for a team-best 78 yards. Before the game, Pats coach Bill Belichick said of Smith-Schuster: “He’s a good player. He’s instinctive, catches the ball well. He’s got good size, smart.”
Before a road loss at Pittsburgh in 2018, Smith-Schuster’s breakout year, Belichick praised his newest receiver saying: “He’s a dynamic player, tremendous player — great with the ball in his hands, great hands, makes some spectacular catches, hard to tackle. So, he’s very good.”
