KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two years ago, JuJu Smith-Schuster enjoyed a career renaissance in Kansas City.
With the Chiefs working through heavy wide-receiver attrition early in the 2024 season, Smith-Schuster turned back the clock again Monday in a lopsided win against the New Orleans Saints at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Smith-Schuster led Kansas City with seven catches for 130 yards, which is tied for the most he’s had in a game in nearly six years.
“He had an opportunity to step up and he did that,” running back Samaje Perine said. “I’m very happy for him, because he’s one of the hardest-working guys out at practice. I’m just happy to see the fruits of his labor.”
Leading receiver Rashee Rice is expected to miss the rest of the regular season after suffering a Week 4 knee, leaving a void in the Chiefs’ passing attack — one Smith-Schuster was happy to fill in Week 5.
“Whatever I get, I’m happy and I’m grateful,” he said. “If the ball comes to me, it comes to me. If it doesn’t, I’ve got to block. That’s just how I live my life.”
Smith-Schuster, a second-round pick from USC in 2017, emerged as a Pro Bowler and rising star in his first two seasons with Pittsburgh, but injuries caught up with him beginning in 2019.
He struggled two of the next three seasons before parting ways with the Steelers.
Smith-Schuster emerged as a key contributor on Kansas City’s Super Bowl LVII-winning squad in 2022, racking up 78 catches for 933 yards with three touchdowns.
He also had seven catches for 53 yards against the Eagles in the Super Bowl despite suffering a knee injury in the AFC Championship Game two weeks earlier.
Smith-Schuster, who had signed an incentive-heavy one-year deal with the Chiefs, cashed in that offseason, moving to New England on with a three-year deal worth $25.5 million.
“JuJu’s a good football player,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “He’s been a good football player for a long time.”
After being cut by the Patriots in early August and re-signing with Kansas City at the tail end of training camp, he’s finally a healthy player again, too.
“I feel great,” he said. “... This is the best I’ve ever felt like I’m 21 out there running around with the guys.”
Smith-Schuster’s night Monday included gains of 31 and 50 yards when he either took advantage of busted coverages or flat out ran away from defenders.
“The invisibility cloak or whatever he had on, just keep bringing that with him every week,” safety Justin Reid said.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is among those grateful Smith-Schuster returned to the roster to provide depth and leadership in the wide-receiver room.
“He has a good feel for the entire concept of the play, so he knows how to get into the open spots,” Mahomes said. “He has a good understanding of my timing, so I can hit him early in some windows that maybe aren’t necessarily taught but are learned over reps.”
Increased reps were the biggest difference in practice from Week 4 to Week 5 after Rice’s injury, Smith-Schuster said. He already was working his way into more snaps.
“JuJu’s so consistent,” Justin Reid said. “That’s the reason why we were happy to bring him back. He’s a reliable guy. He runs his routes as a total professional — a physical wide receiver with reliable hands, so he had a great day today and we needed that.”
—
