JuJu Smith-Schuster OUT FOR SEASON - Will Patriots CUT Him? - video Dailymotion

CLNS Media Sports Network

JuJu Smith-Schuster is done for the season, concluding his seventh year with an ankle injury on top of earlier knee and concussion issues. In his limited 11-game appearance, he managed only 29 catches for 260 yards and one touchdown. CLNS Media's Taylor Kyles discusses Smith-Schuster's underwhelming season and the potential cap implications for the Patriots if they choose to release him in the offseason.  SeatGeek! Use code DREAMERSPRO for $20 off your first SeatGeek order! Visit SeatGeek.com when you checkout! With NFL, NBA and NHL seasons in full swing, you don’t want to miss out - SeatGeek has your tickets to every game!  FanDuel Sportsbook, the exclusive wagering parter of the CLNS Media NetworkRight now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR MONEYLINE BET! So, visit https://FanDuel.com/BOSTON and kick off the NFL season. FanDuel, Official Partner of the NFL. 21+ and present in MA. Hope is here. First online real money wager only. $5 pregame moneyline wager required. First onlinereal money wager only. $10 first deposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets that expire 7 days after receipt. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. GamblingHelpLineMa.org or call (800)-327-5050 for 24/7 support. Play it smart from the start! GameSenseMA.com or call 1-800-GAM-1234.  Ever wished you could navigate the betting field with the confidence of a pro Download the Odds-R App! They're not a sportsbook, but they're the sports betting advisor you've always needed. Patriots Press Pass viewers get a 30-day free trial! Elevate your game day and join the smart betting revolution! Go get it at https://oddsr.com/presspass  Visit https://factormeals.com/PRESSPASS50 to get 50% off your first box! Factor is America’s #1 Ready-To-Eat Meal Kit, can help you fuel up fast with ready-to-eat meals delivered straight to your door.

Transcript

00:00 What's going on everyone, it's Taylor Kyles here for CLNS Media. Wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster's

00:04 season is officially over as he's been placed on injured reserve due to an ankle injury

00:09 ahead of Week 17's matchup against the Buffalo Bills. Now to be frank, this was a hugely

00:14 disappointing season for Juju Smith-Schuster, who some assumed was going to be the number one or

00:18 number two option among the receiving corps after being signed to ostensibly replace Jacoby Myers,

00:24 who signed with the Raiders this offseason in a very similar contract. Smith-Schuster managed

00:28 just 29 catches for 260 yards and one touchdown in his appearances with the Patriots. And I have

00:36 to admit, I was one of the people who was pretty excited when Smith-Schuster was brought in. I

00:40 thought he'd be able to bring more after the catch while still being a similar possession receiver to

00:44 a Jacoby Myers. Obviously that didn't play out, and I think that a lot of it had to do with the

00:49 fact that he never looked fully healthy after suffering a knee injury in the playoffs last

00:53 season. Now I will say I'm not sure whether the knee injury is exactly what was the issue throughout

00:58 the season. I don't think we'll ever really know unless Smith-Schuster tells us himself.

01:02 And obviously he's on injured reserve with an ankle injury, so it wasn't just the knee.

01:07 But he never seemed healthy, even going back to OTAs, which he couldn't participate in because

01:12 he was still recovering from his knee injury. And then in training camp, it seemed like every week

01:17 the expectations for Smith-Schuster kind of took a step back. You assumed that when the Patriots

01:21 signed him, he was cleared medically and they knew that he would be able to produce for them

01:26 at a similar rate to what he did for the Kansas City Chiefs when he was the leading receiver on

01:30 a Super Bowl winning team. Unfortunately, it was pretty clear that he was probably just going to

01:34 be more of a possession receiver and shame mover when the Patriots signed him, which was fine.

01:39 Again, similar role to what we saw from Jacoby Myers. But the consistency and reliability wasn't

01:44 there. There were times where he had opportunities that he just didn't capitalize on. He never really

01:48 seemed to gain Mac Jones's trust due to some inconsistent route running. And overall, the

01:53 product on the field was just a pretty massive disappointment. His best game of the season

01:57 actually was in his last appearance, where he had a season high 90 receiving yards against the

02:01 Pittsburgh Steelers. But again, we didn't see Smith-Schuster in any games after that. And now

02:07 he's going to be done for the season. Friend of the Pats Daily podcast, Miguel Benzon,

02:11 did a great job last month breaking down the different scenarios that could happen if the

02:15 Patriots decide to move on from Drew Smith-Schuster in 2024, as he's going to have a cap hit of about

02:20 $10.5 million, which just isn't really manageable for a receiver that it's hard to project is going

02:27 to have any kind of significant role on the team, especially after such an injury riddled season.

02:31 If Smith-Schuster is cut before June 1st, he'll have a dead cap hit of about $12.3 million. If

02:38 he's traded before June 1st, he'll have a dead cap hit of about $5.3 million. And if he's traded

02:44 after June 1st, he'll have a dead cap hit of about $2.6 million. FanDuel is the exclusive

02:51 wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network. Right now, new customers get $150 in bonus bets

02:59 with any winning $5 Moneyline bet. FanDuel, official partner of the NFL.

03:05 Now, objectively, this was just not a good deal for the Patriots, and they've really backed

03:12 themselves against a wall in terms of how they're going to deal with Smith-Schuster's contract

03:16 moving forward. There's always the chance that he sticks on the roster and becomes a kind of

03:20 wide receiver four type of player, but for that money, there's no getting around it. This was a

03:25 bad move by the Patriots, especially considering they let a young up and coming player go, who is

03:30 a great fit in their system. The Patriots are going to have to overhaul a lot of their offense

03:34 this off season. So if they move on from Smith-Schuster, I think personally, you just got

03:39 to rip the bandaid off, take the loss, because I don't really know how much he was bringing

03:43 into the locker room, especially as someone who didn't really produce. And bottom line,

03:48 if you don't bring it on the field, you don't have much value to the team. So it's not going

03:52 to be pretty. And the Patriots, again, are just going to have to take the loss on this one.

03:57 But those are the consequences when you sign guys to bad contracts. And I will take my share of the

04:02 blame for saying that I thought this was a good move at the time. In my defense, I did think

04:06 Smith-Schuster was going to be a bit healthier. But this is the position the Patriots find

04:10 themselves in. It's going to be interesting to see how they go about it.

JuJu Smith-Schuster OUT FOR SEASON - Will Patriots CUT Him?

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