"He showed that he’s quite important for this offense" - Steelers insider urges team to re-sign JuJu Smith-Schuster

Following a 9-7-1 season that included a playoff appearance, the Steelers are at a crossroads with the direction they are headed moving forward during what looks like a rebuild process.

One important question heading into next season is what will the team do with wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster?

Steelers insider Mark Kaboly thinks the Steelers will have to offer more than a one-year deal this season to retain Smith-Schuster.

"Would they be willing to do more than a one-year deal with Smith-Schuster? This is for sure: He wouldn’t be willing to come back on a one-year deal. Even though he was hurt the majority of the season, he showed that he’s quite important for this offense," Kaboly observed.

Last offseason, JuJu Smith-Schuster signed a one-year deal with the Steelers

Just a year ago, Smith-Schuster was in the same position he's in now, entering free agency as a free agent. While not receiving the franchise tag from Pittsburgh, he tested the market but elected to remain a Steeler.

Smith-Schuster took a hometown discount and signed a one-year, $8 million deal to remain with the Steelers. Interestingly enough, he turned down more money from the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens.

Here’s the interesting part on Steelers’ WR JuJu Smith-Schuster’s one-year deal with Pittsburgh: the Ravens made a hard push to sign him and he wound up taking significantly less money to go back to the Steelers, per sources.

Part of Smith-Schuster's decision to return to the Steelers on a team-friendly deal was the prescence of Big Ben. With no more Ben Roethlisberger and Kevin Colbert, their GM who will be stepping down in May, it'll take more than a one-year deal to retain Smith-Schuster.

Smith-Schuster's 2021-2022 season ended prematurely as he suffered a shoulder injury in Week 5 that ended his season. He was able to return in the playoffs when the Steelers played the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round, where Pittsburgh lost 42-21.

Before suffering the injury, Smith-Schuster didn't have much of a productive season. In five games played in 2021, he recorded 15 receptions for 129 yards and no touchdowns. You would think that after suffering a significant injury and an unproductive year, he would be open to signing another one-year deal with Pittsburgh, but that's highly unlikely as the don't have the luxury pieces to keep him at a cheap price.

This doesn't rule out the possibility that another team could sign him to a more lucrative one-year deal. The free agency class of receivers isn't too deep, so a team may be willing to take a flyer on Smith-Schuster at a higher cost than the Steelers.

Notable Free Agent Wide Receivers:

▪️ Davante Adams
▪️ Chris Godwin
▪️ OBJ
▪️ Allen Robinson
▪️ Mike Williams
▪️ Juju Smith-Schuster
▪️ Michael Gallup

Where will these players end up? https://t.co/3udUWnarYt