According to a report from Jordan Schultz. the Kansas City Chiefs have re-signed free-agent wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster to a one-year contract.
Schultz also reported that the ninth-year wideout — who is just 28 — had interest from other teams, but wanted to remain with the Chiefs. No additional details about his contract were immediately available.
Kansas City first wanted to sign the former USC wide receiver in 2021, after he had finished his rookie contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. But despite being wooed by head coach Andy Reid, Smith-Schuster chose to remain with the team that had drafted him in the second round (62nd overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft, signing a one-year, $8 million contract to remain in Pittsburgh.
But in Week 5 of that season, he suffered a severe shoulder injury that kept him on the Steelers’ Reseve/Injured list until the team’s 42-21 Wild Card loss to the Chiefs. The following offseason, Kansas City signed him to a one-year, $10.75 million “prove-it” contract that carried $7 million in incentives.
That season, he led the Chiefs’ wide receivers with 933 yards and three touchdowns on the way to the team’s victory in Super Bowl LVII, which was enough proof for the New England Patriots to sign Smith-Schuster to a three-year, $33 million contract.
But he never caught on in New England, where he recorded only 29 catches for 260 yards (and one touchdown) over 11 games in 2023. After the Patriots released him the following August, Kansas City re-signed him for 2024.
It seems that Smith-Schuster now knows when he is at home.
“Feels great to be back here, man,” he said before Super Bowl LIX in February. “It’s a blessing.”
