BREAKING NEWS: Patriots RELEASE JuJu Smith-Schuster | Patriots Daily
CLNS Media's Taylor Kyles and Mike Kadlick go LIVE after the Patriots cut JuJu Smith-Schuster eating a $9.6 million dead cap hit.
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SportsTranscript
00:00I am joined by Robert Griffin, the third James White field.
00:08Yes.
00:09Mina Kimes.
00:10All right.
00:11So first play, we're going to look at second into one of the Patriots first offensive plays.
00:19Welcome back.
00:20I'm muted.
00:21Can you hear me now?
00:22Well, let's go a live edition, emergency quick hitter podcast Patriots daily here on the
00:28CLNS media network, Mike Catholic, Taylor Kyle's we're powered by game time and prize
00:32picks today.
00:33And we're coming in here off an emergency news dump from Ian Rappaport, I believe was
00:38first our colleague Doug Codd also on it over at the Boston Herald.
00:42The Patriots have released wide receiver Juju Smith Schuster, according to Pats cap and
00:48all of our capital just around there.
00:49They will also be eating a nine point six million dollar dead cap hit in the release.
00:55Taylor, as as we know, Juju struggled this entire camp, really.
01:00He struggled throughout his entire tenure with the Patriots after signing a comparable
01:04deal of Jacobi Myers last year, last offseason.
01:08Both of them signed.
01:09I know it was a little different with guarantees and stuff, but, you know, the overarching
01:12idea was a roughly three year deal worth around thirty three million dollars for both of them.
01:17And frankly, Juju didn't live up to it whatsoever.
01:20And then now is released one season in.
01:23We'll get into sort of I want to get into my take that we talked about last night and
01:27kind of what I wrote about, where his usage was odd, you know, the way they used them
01:31last night and everything.
01:33But overall, first for you, you know, just quick thoughts on Juju's entire tenure in
01:37New England and what the release means this early in camp, too, because mind you, obviously,
01:41it's only August 9th and they've only gone through one preseason game.
01:45It's time for me to eat crow, first of all, now that this has come full circle, because
01:48I've had some bad takes in my, you know, young career, but I got to say, Juju over
01:54Jacoby Myers is like right up there with Nikhil Harry could be the savior of the Patriots
02:00receiving coordinates.
02:01I, you know, I did think to be fair in the beginning, it wasn't on us, I don't think
02:07because I didn't see him.
02:08We were assuming, oh, this is the guy who led a Super Bowl winning team and receiving
02:12yards.
02:13He didn't do it like DeAndre Hopkins, where he's giving you these crazy catches downfield.
02:17And then when you looked at their numbers, it was like, okay, Juju is going to give you,
02:20you know, maybe a little bit of verticality outside, but really he's going to produce
02:24after the catch, which we didn't really see much and still don't really see much from
02:27Jacoby Myers.
02:28But it's one of those situations where sometimes you just get used to something and you don't
02:33appreciate it as much and you want the shiny new thing.
02:36And we thought that was Juju.
02:37And then I'm pretty sure immediately we saw these practices and it was like, oh no, this
02:43guy has no burst, like the after the catch stuff, the little bit of burst he did have
02:49earlier in his career than allowed him to get separation.
02:51Although he's always been more of a possession guy, it wasn't there.
02:55And that carried over into the season and we saw, you know, we had the one great game
02:58against the Steelers, which is wild that his best career game came against his old team.
03:03And then I was at the next game was that against the Chiefs and he didn't even play.
03:07Yeah.
03:08And then I think he was done for the year.
03:09They threw him on IR and his season was over.
03:11That's pretty crazy symmetry right there.
03:13But yeah.
03:14And then obviously fast forwarding to this year, he told us he was 100% and it just so
03:18happened to be on his best day that he had the entire off season where he actually made
03:22some plays and we're like, okay, maybe he is building some momentum.
03:25And then we never saw that again.
03:27And it became, he lived in my stock down section and I felt bad, but sometimes in these practices,
03:33it's hard for someone to stand out as being bad, you know, or having played poorly.
03:38And unfortunately it was just that bad because he wasn't getting separation.
03:42He wasn't the possession receiver who could make the tough catches through contact.
03:46You weren't seeing that anymore.
03:48So then it became, okay, so what are you doing for me?
03:51Because you're not contributing, you're not contributing on special teams.
03:55You're not making catches.
03:57You're not separating.
03:58You don't have any juice after the catch.
04:00We had been saying it, I think last week is when we first said out loud, you know, I'm
04:04not sure that Juju is going to make it out of camp.
04:06And I even said my roster projection, it's been tough to watch.
04:10The Patriots can afford to eat the dead cap space.
04:13And you know, now it's full circle.
04:14I don't think this is a surprise for anybody, but now both sides can move forward because
04:18I, you know, like you mentioned last night, he's out there for, you know, a couple of
04:22drives with starters and we're like, that should be Jalen Polk.
04:25What is Juju Smith-Schuster doing out there?
04:27That was so odd to me.
04:29And you know, I, I wrote about it last night and I, you know, when we talked about it last
04:34I kind of framed it in a way where as Taylor spills his water all over himself, kind of
04:39framed it in a way where like, are we missing something with, with the team and Juju?
04:44And you know, does he, does he have a burst?
04:47Does he have a standing on this team?
04:48And I was like, are, are they more comfortable with him than we think?
04:51Because again, it was, you know, I outlined it last night, but to reiterate, it was, you
04:55know, they were in 12 personnel with two tight ends and two of their starting wide receivers
04:59in KJ Osborne and Tyquan Thornton.
05:01And then when they subbed out one of their tight ends to go to a three wide receiver
05:03set, the first slot receiver out there was Juju Smith-Schuster right away.
05:07And it was like, what are we doing here?
05:10Is this, is this his spot?
05:12Is he really number two behind pop?
05:14Why isn't Jalen Polk out here?
05:15Is it a rookie thing?
05:16Is it a, are they doing nice by their veteran?
05:18Are they trying to give them a chance to, you know, this is your one last drive to show
05:22us what you have.
05:23Like, and they didn't even scheme him anything.
05:26You know, you'd think if it was like, we're going to showcase you kind of like, maybe
05:29what they did was zappy.
05:31I still don't know that that's what that was.
05:32But if that was similar, then you'd think, give him a jet sweep, give him a screen, you
05:36know, design a downfield shot for him.
05:38And there was none of that.
05:39So it was like, what was, what was the right, give him a rubber out, get him the ball in
05:43space and see if he has the, you know, that shake that he had three or four years ago
05:47or whatever.
05:48And we were talking last night in the press box.
05:49Like I didn't realize that he was only 27 years old, but you know, you reminded me that
05:53he came into the league at 20 years old.
05:55And so yes, he's on the younger side, but yes, he does have a lot of tread on his tires
05:59and it's become clear with what we've seen on the field.
06:02I have the numbers in front of me too, between him and Jacoby Myers last season.
06:05Again, it's kind of pouring salt on the wound.
06:07We mentioned, we've mentioned a few times where we don't want to keep beating a dead
06:11horse with this, but now that it's official, I mean, let's talk about it.
06:14Jacoby Myers last season, 71 catches, 807 yards, eight touchdowns, uh, Juju 29 catches
06:21260 yards, one touchdown goes on IR is released after just one season.
06:26So it's clear that it's just not there for the guy anymore.
06:30You know, I wish him the best, obviously, I, I hope, you know, he could maybe get himself
06:35healthy in these, in, you know, the next couple of weeks, you know, hitch onto a team and
06:40maybe play some football, but I don't know where he fits anymore.
06:43I wonder what the future, uh, I wonder what the future for him really holds in the NFL.
06:48Um, and so yeah, it's just, but if you think about if they had just kept Jacoby Myers and
06:53you probably don't need to draft Jalen Polk.
06:56You're not the same kind of player.
06:57Cause obviously Polk is like Jacoby Myers with a little more juice, but you have, I
07:01mean, to be fair, you can't say that because he was Jacoby with a little more juice and
07:07that just didn't happen at all.
07:08Sorry.
07:09Go ahead.
07:10But like, you might not have Drake may honestly, if you have Jacoby Myers instead of Juju
07:14Smith Schuster.
07:15So actually, you know, it was tough, but then you do that.
07:19So you get to where you are right now.
07:20So, uh, so the, uh, yeah, the looking through, I guess, a pair of rose colored glasses and
07:26the, the positive side of this is what has been mentioned last week or what was mentioned
07:32last week, this past week with the brand and I used stuff where, when the Patriots pulled
07:37out of the deal, it was reported by Adam Schefter that the Patriots are comfortable with their
07:41young guys.
07:42And this opens that Avenue even more for them.
07:45Um, we just mentioned it where, where Juju played last night in that, you know, starting
07:50F roll in the three-hour receiver set that really should have been Jalen Polk.
07:53And that has been Jalen Polk.
07:55And now he kind of moves up the depth chart.
07:57Now Davon Baker moves up the depth chart.
07:59Now that back-end competition between, uh, Jalen Rager, Typhoon Thornton, and Kashawn
08:05booty comes, becomes a little bit, comes a little bit more clear.
08:09And now you don't let the competition, you know, you don't take away those reps between
08:15those guys or for those guys over the next couple of weeks, you don't take them away
08:18anymore.
08:20You just get Juju out of the, you know, you basically make, make what was going to happen
08:24happen now and give that those guys, those reps over the next couple of weeks.
08:27So now they make the release.
08:30Now, what are you most looking forward to with these guys, especially again, in Jalen
08:33Polk and Jalen Baker, maybe more opportunities for Jalen Polk to show what he's got.
08:38Cause we've mentioned the production for him has been inconsistent in camp.
08:41And a lot of that is just because you are rotating a lot.
08:44Sometimes you got other mouths to feed, you know, it's not that easy, so more opportunities
08:47for him.
08:49And then in the slot, I mean, Demario Douglas obviously didn't play yesterday, but he's
08:54been practicing.
08:55But after those two, you do kind of wonder who you go to after that.
09:00Maybe give it to booty.
09:01I don't know because David Wallace really right now, like when I look at my roster,
09:06he is slated to be the third string slot receiver.
09:09So I guess booty Baker can maybe start competing for that.
09:14But other than that, KJ Osborne, I guess, can also factor into that mix.
09:19We've seen him and Polk be used interchangeably, but yeah, it's a little bit shallow with that
09:23position now, but maybe, you know, some of those young guys can show a little bit of
09:27versatility.
09:28They couldn't before.
09:29Definitely.
09:30It's a, it, you know, it's, it's, it's exciting.
09:34Maybe it's the right word.
09:35It's not exciting.
09:36You don't want to see a guy lose his job like, or anything like that.
09:38So that's kind of a, a weird way to say it, but it gives them perspective.
09:41It's exciting when you isolate, you know, the fact that yes, someone's losing their
09:45job.
09:46But it's clearly good for the team that has a lot of young players that need more reps.
09:51And then you had somebody who respectfully was kind of just taking up those spaces because
09:55he wasn't maximizing opportunities.
09:56Right.
09:57And it's a question I've sort of, I've sort of framed it this way with, you know, guys
10:01like Chad Ryland, who were Bill Belichick guys, and now Chad granted has done well in
10:06camp and is, is in the middle of this competition with Joey.
10:11It was less, less difficult of a decision, I guess, for them to, to release Juju because
10:16it was a Belichick decision.
10:17It's not the new regime.
10:18And so you kind of cut, cut ties with those things that was a Belichick decision, or was
10:23that one of those where he was overruled?
10:25Cause I thought he didn't really like Juju.
10:27I thought he was overruled on that one.
10:29It's a good question actually.
10:31And I don't know off the top of my head because that's one of those, those storylines that
10:35came out, I think, and you know, one of those, uh, those Herald pieces with Doug and Andrew
10:39and they've, they've done a great job with those the last couple of years, I don't remember
10:43exactly.
10:44So I think that's a good question that we can maybe, uh, and find out because you're
10:49right.
10:50If granted, if he wasn't, and it was somebody else in the front office, maybe it was Elliot
10:54Wolf who was banging the door down for Juju down at that time.
10:57I don't really know.
10:58Um, but regardless, it's, you know, it's a past and future thing now with the Patriots
11:02and they, they sort of get the old, um, he was the oldest receiver on the team.
11:06He was the highest paid receiver on the team.
11:08Uh, I'm reading the comments now.
11:10He was, he wasn't great with the Patriots.
11:12It's it stinks.
11:13It's, it's, it's too bad.
11:14And I, I, again, I don't wish, wish ill will on the guy because I think he was a good teammate.
11:19I think that whole wide receiver room, uh, gelled regardless of who was good, who was
11:24bad, who was hurt, who wasn't, we're not doing these comments.
11:29Me and Taylor are not putting these comments up.
11:31Somebody else behind the scenes is, uh, but again, it's, it is, it's, it's tough, but
11:37it, it gives, uh, I guess a better perspective on the, on the room as a whole moving forward.
11:42So, um, that's kind of our thoughts.
11:45Do you have anything else?
11:46Again, this was going to be sort of a quick head or any way with Juju, but, um, they obviously
11:50they release him.
11:52They open up some, some money while eating the dead cap hit potentially, you know, makes
11:55room for Matthew Jude on or something like that.
11:58They pull out of Juju or they pull out of the brand and I use sweepstakes.
12:02They cut Juju, uh, and now they open up a little bit more cash.
12:05So maybe that's coming down the pike.
12:06Maybe not.
12:07We'll obviously see what happens, but any more thoughts, Taylor on Juju and what it
12:10means for the rest of the room before we wrap this, uh, emergency podcast up.
12:13Good.
12:14I'm ready to put this to bed.
12:15Moving on.
12:16Perfect.
12:17Sounds good to me.
12:18The receivers, Jalen Polk, Jayvon Baker, DeMario, a Kendrick Bourne, maybe coming back soon.
12:26KJ Osborne.
12:27They're younger.
12:28They get the monkey off their back with Juju Smith Schuster a little bit as, uh, they unfortunately
12:32released him today.
12:34So that's going to do it for myself and Taylor Kyles here in this emergency Patriots daily
12:38podcast.
12:40to the Friday news dump that the Patriots have in fact parted ways with Juju Smith Schuster
12:44just one week into preseason of 2024 training camp.
12:47So we thought last night's post game show was going to be our last show till Sunday.
12:51Obviously that wasn't the case, but we will be back Sunday as the Patriots have training
12:54camp 11 a.m.
12:55Practice.
12:56We'll be down there and we'll react to it all here on Patriots press pass and on CLMSmedia.com.
13:00So until next time, make sure to check out Mike's instant reactions from the game from
13:04last night and be able to look out.
13:06I will have my film review for the game as well.
13:10Taylor has probably not slept yet cause he's knee deep in film right now.
13:14So it's good stuff.
13:15It'll be good.
13:16It'll be, it'll be fun to check it out.
13:17So again, make sure to keep it with us on Twitter, CLMSmedia.com everywhere you get
13:22our content.
13:23So again, until Sunday's post-practice reaction here on the Patriots daily podcast, uh, take
13:28care of yourselves, take care of each other, enjoy your weekends, and we'll see you next
13:32time.
13:33Peace y'all.