Since returning to the Kansas City Chiefs, JuJu Smith-Schuster has already matched his touchdown total from his time with the New England Patriots.
The former Patriots free agent bust came up big for the Chiefs in their win against the Atlanta Falcons Sunday night. The veteran receiver caught two passes for 17 yards, including a third-quarter touchdown that was the difference in the 22-17 win in Atlanta.
The game marks Smith-Schuster’s first offensive production since his return to Kansas City (and an offense where he gets to play with Patrick Mahomes).
The 27-year-old is coming off a disappointing season in New England. In 2023, Smith-Schuster signed a 3-year, $25.5 million contract with the Patriots with expectations that he’d become the team’s new top receiver.
However, that didn’t pan out. Instead, Smith-Schuster struggled in his return from a knee injury and produced spotty results.
With the Patriots in 2023, Smith-Schuster played in 11 games, catching 29 passes for 260 yards and 1 touchdown.
Despite optimism that his knee had improved over the offseason, Smith-Schuster failed to stand out in training camp, finding himself lost in the shuffle at receiver.
Smith-Schuster’s time in New England ended on Aug. 9 when news broke that the team had opted to release him. The veteran receiver was set to account for $10.28 million against the salary cap. Even after being cut, he still cost the team $9.63 million in dead cap money.
This isn’t the first time Smith-Schuster has found a resurgence in Kansas City. He did something similar in 2022. Coming off an unproductive and injury-riddled finish to his five-year stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the receiver signed a cheap deal with the Chiefs in 2022.
That season, Smith-Schuster caught 78 passes for 933 yards as he helped fuel the team’s Super Bowl run.
