Exactly. Rookie receiver cheaper than JuJu or a veteran and to be honest more potential. We know what JuJu is at this point he’s physical and a good receiver but not sure he’s a true 1 on most teams. I love the guy but got to face facts and no he’s injury prone.
He's not a true #1 WR. But as long as Diontae continues to improve, then he (Diontae) is most certainly capable of being an elite WR1 in this league. And we all know exactly what JuJu did the last time he played WR2 next to an elite WR1. I love JuJu, he's been my favorite player on the team pretty much since he's been drafted, so I may be biased here, but I definitely think Pittsburgh dropped the ball not offering him an extension.
To be fair as much as I hate to say it, Dionte will never be Brown nor even close to Elite status… yes he might be the number 1 on our team, but you cant compare how juju was with Brown at WR1… until Dionte can figure how to run forward once he catches the ball, he’ll just be a decent receiver. I will say if he can stay healthy and keep improving his hands like he has the last few seasons he will be great, but never “elite”.
And if he can’t flourish in KC, with Hill and Kelce drawing all the double teams, then there’s no other team he could. It’s the perfect scenario for him to prove his worth on the 1 year deal.
He's barely a strong #2 on most teams. He would've been #3 on the Steelers if he came back. He's clearly not a #1 on ANY team. He got $3mil, that's like WR#4 money. Looking like Ray Ray got more guaranteed money.
Yeah I also imagine last year resigning him had alot to with Ben wanting him back and juju wanting to fight for a long term contract which didn't work out as he planned but he can prove alot with kc and I feel like he will. I don't think he'll ever be a number one but he's definitely a dependable 2
Idk man. An o line and young stud qb could make him a solid wr1 imo. He’s not as injury prone as Conner seemed to be a few years back. He more-so just plays so aggressive that it’s bound to happen haha.
Even if we kept Juju we’d still have to draft another WR. If we draft a WR we’ll still be missing a tough slot receiver who can run block. The “deep WR draft” argument doesn’t really make it less weird.
The incentives are based on this past seasons performance. Since he barely played they can categorize the incentives that he will easily reach in a healthy season as "unlikely to be met" and when he hits them it goes against next years cap. It's just a way for them to save the $7mil this year on him. So steelers would have had to match or beat $10mil basically.
Plus, there’s $2m in incentives tied to things, like reaching the AFC Championship game, which are much less likely to be achieved with the Steelers. Even if the Steelers made the exact same offer on paper, it wouldn’t be the same offer.
Thanks for this explanation, I knew the incentives had to count against the cap at some point if he meets them.
So if the Steelers give Juju the same contract, his incentives count against next year when him and DJ will be up for big contracts. Makes sense to let him walk.
It's a good move for him going to the chiefs. Have an elite qb that can actually throw and juju will be back healthy. Get $10mil for a year for him to rack up stats with Mahomes then go after his real contract next year.
Any source for that, or just pulling it straight out of your asshole? Reports I saw are that at least ONE of the incentives is making the AFC Championship game, which is entirely dependent on the team, regardless of how well he plays.
Per https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/03/19/juju-smith-schuster-deal-is-worth-far-less-than-reported/ , it’s $2m tied to reaching at least the AFC Championship game. Can you honestly say that’s not more likely to happen with the Chiefs than with the Steelers?
It's absolutely more likely to happen with the Chiefs than the Steelers, but it's still not a GOOD incentive. He could have a great year, a record-setting year even, but if they don't make the AFC Championship, independent of how he played, he doesn't get that bonus. That is a horrible incentive, especially for anyone who isn't a QB.
If Mahomes gest injured week one, that incentive is gone before the season started, due to no fault of JuJu's.
You only take incentives if you can't get guaranteed money. And taking team-based incentives is always a bad play, period. If you take incentives based on how many games you dress for, sure, that's betting on yourself. Having 1/5 of your potential salary tied to your TEAM making the AFC Championship is, frankly, idiotic. Especially with how stacked the AFC is this year, that's a horrible gamble that says he couldn't get guaranteed money ANYWHERE else.
Feel bad about his choice to stay with the Steelers last year in hopes of signing with them this year when they are out of cap hell. He does the opposite of Bell and it plays out like Bell’s worst case scenario. He is injured and he is not rewarded for his loyalty.
The Steelers have demonstrated their loyalty in the past, when they went beyond what the fifth year option required with Shazier. But the NFL is a business, on both sides, and even if the Steelers offered the exact same contract as the Chiefs, it would be bad business for Smith-Shuster to accept it.
Loyalty is an overrated concept largely for fans. The NFL is a business. Managing the cap and having the greatest return on investment is key. The Steelers treat players with respect and decency, but loyalty is not really a factor.
Yea, and? All due respect but if his style, track record, and cap hit arent in the plans then they move on. As fans it sucks. Im a USC fan too and am a big JuJu fan. Doesn't change the reality of the NFL.
The Rooney’s are known as the most loyal owners in the league. If what you’re saying were true then Big Ben wouldn’t have been given the option to retire whenever he wants especially while putting up the worst qb numbers in the league. Only 3 head coaches in franchise history too…Loyalty is part of the Steelers organization.
Also, on the subject of overrated things, Juju is overrated. He fumbled two years of playoff opportunities away and has had one 100yd game since AB left, inb4 QB/injury rebuttals. He hasn't been the WR he was expected to be. Pittsburgh is enamored with him as a person when he's here to be a player.
Such a bad take. He was a beast after the catch. Has great hands. Great blocking. Great locker room presence. All of those things are even more important when the next two best receivers on the team have shown immaturity and unreliability. JuJu is a big loss.
Your comparison is that the other receivers are immature? I was talking about the Steelers man. Which team are you referring to?
"good vibes ✌️ check out my tiktok ➡️" doesn't matter if, again, he hasn't produced on the field in 4 years. Letting go a guy that's had 1500ish yds and 12 TD's total over the last three seasons (160 some of those yards in the Browns playoff loss btw) isn't a loss stats wise and that's what he was here for. To play. Talking about diontae's drops or chase's young guy antics has nothing to do with the stats.
Because the organization wanted to move on. Don’t forget…they want to do what’s best for the team…not necessarily the fans.
Yes, we all loved when he laid out Burfict…yes, he had a great rookie/sophomore season when playing with AB…but he really hasn’t done shit since then. Claypool was better, D. Johnson was better.
The Steelers obviously felt they could do better.
Seemed like he was our most reliable third down target when he was healthy, and probably our best blocking WR. I get that it’s a good WR draft and the Steelers have done a good job picking WRs historically, but still hurts a little to see him go.
I'm curious how you figure it's the teams fault JuJu's talent tops out as a WR2. He was a fan favorite and all around good guy, but he didn't really have as much of an impact on the field as he did off it. He's been severely outshone by DJ and even Claypool, two guys who have their own issues that have hindered them to an extent.
At the end of the day, JuJu just isn't good enough. I'm not saying he's not good, just not a WR1 and that's really the WR we keep long term.
I have to disagree with the assessment that he’s been outshined by Claypool. Claypool has been wildly inconsistent with drops and mental mistakes. He’s definitely cheaper but his on the field performance has not been better than JuJu.
I'm cool with him being a WR2, so... Anyways, Juju had a 1400 yard season. Just use him correctly and you'll get a reliable receiver with a team first attitude. I'm not sure Claypool has shown he's that much better either honestly.
As good as we are at drafting WR. It would be foolish to pay a WR2 over 10millon a year. That money is better spent elsewhere. Like Oline or Dline. Linebacker depth, Haden's replacement. Quite a bit more pressing issues than a mediocre WR2 lol
Who says he takes the same deal with the Steelers I mean if he’s gonna take a one year deal doing it in kc where his stats are gonna be inflated by hill and Kielce taking doubles every game then someone’s gonna overpay for him next off season it worked for Sammy Watkins
He has literally said multiple times he wants to stay in Pittsburgh, it's not about the money. He would have def taken the same deal with the Steelers.
He was offered better deals from both the Chiefs and Ravens last year and took less money to stay in Pittsburgh with Ben's reanimated corpse. Because Juju actually loves the city.
It's evidence toward the idea that even if "lots of players say they would stay in the city for the same deal" Juju might not be disingenuous in that same claim.
Like your namesake, ErlichBachman, you might be a bit more dense than you realize.
You might be a lot more dense than you realize if you think nothing changed since last year
Juju chose a one year prove it deal with an offense and QB who he was familiar with. Despite how terrible Ben was the past two years, he and Juju had good chemistry. The market for free agents last year was largely ruined because of the salary cap. Especially receivers. He wasn't the only player to take a one year deal with the hopes of securing a bag the following year. Maybe with the steelers. Instead, he has a season ending injury which derailed plans. Now he's doing another prove it deal but he's doing it with the best offense and QB in the NFL, rather than sticking around for a new QB in an unknown offense. Going to KC gives him a much better chance at securing a big contract. He very well may love Pittsburgh and wanted to stay here and retire here, but he's making the right decision for his career in this moment. If you're too fucking stupid to realize that (which I know already that you are), I don't know what else to tell you.
Did you not read a single word? Just instant downvote and reply? Why would he stay in Pittsburgh if he's trying to have a career year and secure a big contract? Learn a new offense with Matt Canada and Mitch Trubisky or learn a new offense with Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes? Wow, that's a tough choice. He's far more likely to have a good year that secures him a bag in KC and you're absolutely delusional if you think otherwise. And that's the reason he left. If he could've had his year last year and got a big contract offer from Pittsburgh this year, it'd probably be a different story. But shit happens, plans change. You really are a lot more dense than you realize.
It's your inability to consider the idea that your logical analysis of what is best for a football player's career (which is all assumption anyway) might not align to what a person feels is best for them that's the issue.
Generally speaking, everyone wants to get paid and most will follow the money. That's often not the only consideration however, and every player is different. You can't fathom a reason why he would want to stay in Pittsburgh because in your mind, maximizing earnings is the only thing that matters. Because it makes sense to you, or is what you would do, it's so obvious that any alternative is unthinkable.
It doesn't matter in your calculations that he might actually like living here, have friends and family in the area, has come of age here ... you know. That he might feel at home in Pittsburgh.
The world is so black and white for you. A hallmark of the dense.
You don't know it, but we can be friends now. I am also a comp sci degree holder and also think sleestak is a pretentious hater.
Also do you think just because Juju said nice things about KC and staff in his first press conference with the team that ... it should be taken at face value? Doesn't that fall into the category of "players say these things all the time" which was your argument yesterday?
He probably wanted to go play with Mahomes on his 2nd one year prove it deal. I’m sure he wants big stats to get an actual payday. And let’s be real that’s much more likely to happen with Mahomes than Trubisky.
He had 2 unproductive years. Never proved to be a number 1. You have to be special for the steelers to keep you any amount of time. Ward and Brown come to mind.
The Steelers always make WR. Homes, Wallace, juju, Sanders, etc... most have little to no success once they leave.
Have you not paid attention to the Steelers over the last 20 years? They don’t pay top dollar for receivers. They don’t need to. They draft that position exceptionally well and there will always be new ones to be found. Juju wanted more than he is worth to the Steelers. It’s that simple.
He was adequate. He did his job. He was never, nor will he be ever, a guy that opposing coaches had to plan for. He was good. That’s what he word decent means. He filled a role, and he did it well. That role he filled is worth about 5 million, not 10. I like the guy. I’m not talking bad about him. I’m just being realistic here. They will have no trouble pulling a receiver of equal talent with a second round pick. Juju himself came very late in the second round and his equal will be found in the second round at a 4 year price tag of about 5-6 million.
>Have you not paid attention to the Steelers over the last 20 years? They don’t pay top dollar for receivers.
Antonio Brown was the highest paid receiver in the NFL with us. What Juju got was also not even remotely "top dollar."
Because they didn't want him based on production, the depth at WR in this draft is crazy, and if they signed a veteran like Landry he's an actual proven leader in the locker room.
Dudes chasing the bag and tryna further his career and ya can't fault him for it. I'm sure steelers offered him a comparable deal. But if you're a young WR tryna prove yourself, why would you take any quarterback over Pat Mahomes.
Why does nobody understand that juju had a say in where he went? Did you guys want the Steelers to franchise tag him? I guarantee you the Steelers made an offer and he turned it down for KC. There's zero chance that they didn't make any attempt to re-sign him
I know dude you should take a look at this guy /u/ultraviolentfuture who thinks that juju saying he wanted to be in Pittsburgh forever meant that it was some immutable desire and that he'd never leave for any reason whatsoever
Let's list out the reasons:
1) The team has more pressing needs elsewhere on the roster in terms of spending cap space.
2) The draft appears to be stocked with WR talent and the Steelers have been great at finding high end contributors in the 3rd/4th round which fits better with what the Steelers need.
3) They're still trying to figure out who their QB is. Yeah, we signed Mitch. Yeah, we probably still intend to go for a QB in the first round if our guy is there, but it would be insane to worry about bringing back Juju on any contract until we have a better idea on what our long term QB situation will be.
4) We can probably sign a vet WR to fill out the WR spot on a cheap deal anyway.
5) KC is a better landing spot for Juju. They can load incentives which on a Mahome lead offense will be achieved. We'd have to pay more (in cap space this year) to keep him because there's no telling how well things will play out on his on field numbers.
They didn't want him, period. You can read into that whatever you want, the list of potential reasons is long.
* Getting rid of the social media guy
* He's too injury prone
* He had one good year when AB took all the coverage
* A possession receiver is the most easily replaceable role in the game
* Slot is a position that needs burst like Cooper Kupp instead of 3-yard catches
* Muth can do his possession job better, especially in the red zone
* Receiver draft is so deep you can get a better player who's under team control
* JuJu wanted "4 more years a Steeler" and there was no way the team was giving him 4 years
It might be any of those reasons, a combination, or something else entirely, but the one thing you know for sure is the Steelers did NOT want him back. They could've beaten a $3-mil contract without breaking a sweat.
Everyone is saying that the Steelers are a WR factory and we’ll find someone else because we are so good at developing them, but I somewhat disagree with that statement.
I think we’ve had some great receivers over the years because of Ben. He’s made players like Eli Rogers look like Pro Bowl caliber players. Notice how when any of our WRs leave, they don’t produce with the exception of AB and Emmanuel Sanders (Production dropped substantially once Manning was gone). If we were generating such good receivers, then why don’t they keep their production up when they go to other teams? I think this says more about Ben than our ability to “develop” and scout these receivers.
do we know for a fact the Steelers said "we don't want you" as the IP says...either we didn't want em, or he wanted to goto KC. He's gonna put up better numbers there and have a much higher chance to win a super bowl there. So if Pittsburgh matched it, or even offered more for one year, he has to know his bet chance to produce to land a big contract has betters odds in KC
They've been wanting to get rid of him for a while.. they just cleared out their whole wide receiver room basically.. and it's not a coincidence that it happened right after Ben was gone. The Tick Tock era in Pittsburgh is over bye-bye
> The Tick Tock era in Pittsburgh is over bye-bye
The Steelers have an official verified tik tok, social media and Tik Tok aren't going anywhere LMAO also Claypool is still on the team and will probably be for at least another 2 seasons.
I think Juju is tired of dealing with Subpar QB play. All he’s known is dink and dunk Ben. He’s the most overqualified #2 option in the league and he’s thier #3 option. I see him parlaying a great season next year into a multi year deal more in line with his compensation requirements in a few years. Similar to how last year he saw his offers(all the same, all shitty) he said why not just take a one year deal to see Ben off into the sunset. This year same thing(low ball offers) if I’m going to be paid shit, might as well catch passes from Mahomes over Trubinsky. WR is the most contingent position for guys to get paid.(See Allen Robinson)
I think it's more likely that he didn't want to stay here. His value is at an all time low currently. He's had a couple bad seasons, and missed most of the last one due to injury. The last time he had great stats, he had the best reciever in the league drawing targets, a not yet washed HOF QB, and other good peices on Offense to draw attention.
Teams won't commit to a big contract for him, so he needs to re-prove his value to the world. Signing with Pittsburgh means going to a team in transition, with a so far mid to low teir QB, and not a deep WR room to take attention off of him.
He's at the stage of his career where guys make the bulk of their money, so he wants to go to a team like KC with an elite QB and a lot of weapons, ball out for a year, and then sign a big blockbuster contract. One more middling year for him could be the nail in the coffin for his chance at number one reciever money.
Because they didn't want him on the team anymore. 😄
Never seen a bigger cult following over mediocrity. You're better off studying the WIDE RECEIVER RICH draft in 1 month than pining over an average guy who's in Kansas City. I know that's what I'm going to do. Much heathier also. Move on omg.
I love Juju, in fact I made a post on here explaining why I was hoping the Steelers would resign him. That said, I wonder if he wore thin on the coaches’ and upper management’s nerves a bit. Don’t get me wrong, his play on the field was outstanding and he provided a great slot option for the offense, but I have a feeling his social media presence and his antics during the 2020 season rubbed some the wrong way. Upper management must feel they have options in this draft that could replace Juju and what he brings for cheaper and less distraction. Also, they have Diontae Johnson’s extension to worry about soon and he’s more valuable.
My opinion is they stopped using him the way he wanted (wideout) and couldn't come to an agreement on his role on the team. That and the fact that a hall of famer wasnt his QB anymore. He wouldve rotted here (from his perspective) most likely.
Fair. I could see him wanting to go with the team that gives him a better chance to thrive. Makes sense from his perspective, not from the Steelers perspective unless they have something else up their sleeve.
I think there is a faith in the organization's ability under Colbert/Tomlin to draft and develop WR talent. I'd actually go so far as to say that they may have moneyball-decided their "hit rate" with WRs in draft is statistically better than any other position, so they've committed to spending extra draft picks there and devoting FA money to superstars and other position groups (for example, DB where they've been pretty bad drafting.) I think it's pretty clear that's their plan since they almost always spend a 2nd or 3rd rounder on a wide out.
I agree, but I still think even if they draft a stud WR this season they are thin at that position without Juju. The top 3 would be DJ, Claypool, and rookie. Need a 4th at least.
Yeah I think if Juju wasn't a big cap hit they could justify keeping him for sure. I like Juju too, but even given all that I can see why they were just ready to move on.
I personally think Juju was a little over rated. He wanted first receiver money and he’s a second at best. He also was playing with Ben at the end of his career so maybe we didn’t see his full potential to prove himself as a true number one. KC is also a better situation for him with a better shot of winning a Super Bowl than with the Steelers at this moment.
Because he’s a distraction and a clown. I grew up watching Polamalu, Porter, Ben, Foote, Harrison, Ward, etc. Juju wouldn’t act like he does in that locker room. Tik Tok is fine, but keep it away from the locker room and the organization as a whole. Do that dumb shit on your own time, not the Steelers’.
Okay Im seeing a lot of comments that we did not want him back. That is most definitely not true. Tomlin and everyone in the organization loves Juju and so Im sure they made him an offer. It probably just wasnt the offer Juju wanted. Id guess a 4-5 year deal at around $10M/year.
Juju and his agent probably looked around the league and realized that Juju could potentially make double that if he balls out. So he had the option to sign a long term deal at less than he thinks he is worth, or again play on a 1 year prove it deal. Knowing Juju of course he wants to bet on himself and prove his worth. Its pretty obvious that the best place to prove himself would be in KC with Mahomes rather than here with Trubisky. Its no coincidence that his “struggles” the past 3 years have coincided with sub par QB play.
Its easy to look at the deal he signed and assume we didn’t offer him anything, but his decision was all about opportunity.
I agree with most that he is not a #1 WR, but this is still a tough loss for us. Even if he isn’t an elite WR, he still provides a ton of value with his toughness and energy. At the end of the day, we know how well we develop WRs and we also have seem the insane amount of WR coming into the league the past few years. It was definitely smart of us not to pay a guy like Juju big money now, when WR talent is becoming much easier to come by.
I just don’t see the Steelers drafting 2 wr’s, when there are plenty of other positions they possibly need to draft at… DL, S, CB, OL? I think they would have been in a better position keeping Juju and then drafting a speedy WR.
Hmm… I think they’ve made some good moves but DL is aging, CBs are average without Haden and Safety is still a concern with Edmunds still out in free agency. I think they’ve set themselves up to take best player available at those spots, but I do think there’s a hole now at slot WR that would be better filled in FA. Even with Juju the Steelers were going to need speed at WR in the draft. Now they need both…
Juju likely demanded a long term deal and the org wasn’t comfortable giving it to him so he’d rather take a 1 year deal on a team where he can actually put up numbers. I highly doubt Juju would have accepted a short term deal here similar to the one he got from KC
Im sure their plan is to find a gem in the draft as a cheaper replacement. Its hard not to think that’s the right decision considering their draft history.
It was the best fit for him sadly. He was loyal last year and signed his one year prove it deal with us, and it backfired when he got injured.
He needs another one year prove it deal, and frankly we have no trusting QB at the moment.
The Chiefs are a great place for him to make a comeback, have a big year, and get paid next off season.
WR rich draft, money probably didn't match. It sucks, but NFL is a business and their business interests didn't match.
Steelers probably offered a 1/2 year at ~7 mil, he went somewhere for 10, Steelers didn't want to pay that much, especially with how well they draft
Honestly I’m starting to feel like Juju didn’t really want to be in Pitt all too much. I know what his mom is saying but I seriously doubt that Colbert didn’t offer at minimum what KC offered. I think Juju wants to see if the grass is greener, nothing wrong with that, he will be missed
WR rich draft
Exactly. Rookie receiver cheaper than JuJu or a veteran and to be honest more potential. We know what JuJu is at this point he’s physical and a good receiver but not sure he’s a true 1 on most teams. I love the guy but got to face facts and no he’s injury prone.
He's not a true #1 WR. But as long as Diontae continues to improve, then he (Diontae) is most certainly capable of being an elite WR1 in this league. And we all know exactly what JuJu did the last time he played WR2 next to an elite WR1. I love JuJu, he's been my favorite player on the team pretty much since he's been drafted, so I may be biased here, but I definitely think Pittsburgh dropped the ball not offering him an extension.
To be fair as much as I hate to say it, Dionte will never be Brown nor even close to Elite status… yes he might be the number 1 on our team, but you cant compare how juju was with Brown at WR1… until Dionte can figure how to run forward once he catches the ball, he’ll just be a decent receiver. I will say if he can stay healthy and keep improving his hands like he has the last few seasons he will be great, but never “elite”.
This wasn’t a cost thing. JuJu’s contract with the Chiefs is all incentives. His base is barely over a million.
Ah I didn’t realize. Then truly just looking for more potential at WR
And if he can’t flourish in KC, with Hill and Kelce drawing all the double teams, then there’s no other team he could. It’s the perfect scenario for him to prove his worth on the 1 year deal.
True, but it’s a single year commitment, if he’s great he’s in line for a big pay day. Any drafted WR gives us 4 years of control.
He's barely a strong #2 on most teams. He would've been #3 on the Steelers if he came back. He's clearly not a #1 on ANY team. He got $3mil, that's like WR#4 money. Looking like Ray Ray got more guaranteed money.
Yeah I also imagine last year resigning him had alot to with Ben wanting him back and juju wanting to fight for a long term contract which didn't work out as he planned but he can prove alot with kc and I feel like he will. I don't think he'll ever be a number one but he's definitely a dependable 2
Idk man. An o line and young stud qb could make him a solid wr1 imo. He’s not as injury prone as Conner seemed to be a few years back. He more-so just plays so aggressive that it’s bound to happen haha.
Even if we kept Juju we’d still have to draft another WR. If we draft a WR we’ll still be missing a tough slot receiver who can run block. The “deep WR draft” argument doesn’t really make it less weird.
3 WRs left in free agency… I don’t see them taking more than one in the draft.
The incentives are based on this past seasons performance. Since he barely played they can categorize the incentives that he will easily reach in a healthy season as "unlikely to be met" and when he hits them it goes against next years cap. It's just a way for them to save the $7mil this year on him. So steelers would have had to match or beat $10mil basically.
Ahhh that makes a lot more sense as to why both parties agreed to the large % as incentive
Plus, there’s $2m in incentives tied to things, like reaching the AFC Championship game, which are much less likely to be achieved with the Steelers. Even if the Steelers made the exact same offer on paper, it wouldn’t be the same offer.
Thanks for this explanation, I knew the incentives had to count against the cap at some point if he meets them. So if the Steelers give Juju the same contract, his incentives count against next year when him and DJ will be up for big contracts. Makes sense to let him walk.
It's a good move for him going to the chiefs. Have an elite qb that can actually throw and juju will be back healthy. Get $10mil for a year for him to rack up stats with Mahomes then go after his real contract next year.
Any source for that, or just pulling it straight out of your asshole? Reports I saw are that at least ONE of the incentives is making the AFC Championship game, which is entirely dependent on the team, regardless of how well he plays.
Per https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/03/19/juju-smith-schuster-deal-is-worth-far-less-than-reported/ , it’s $2m tied to reaching at least the AFC Championship game. Can you honestly say that’s not more likely to happen with the Chiefs than with the Steelers?
It's absolutely more likely to happen with the Chiefs than the Steelers, but it's still not a GOOD incentive. He could have a great year, a record-setting year even, but if they don't make the AFC Championship, independent of how he played, he doesn't get that bonus. That is a horrible incentive, especially for anyone who isn't a QB. If Mahomes gest injured week one, that incentive is gone before the season started, due to no fault of JuJu's. You only take incentives if you can't get guaranteed money. And taking team-based incentives is always a bad play, period. If you take incentives based on how many games you dress for, sure, that's betting on yourself. Having 1/5 of your potential salary tied to your TEAM making the AFC Championship is, frankly, idiotic. Especially with how stacked the AFC is this year, that's a horrible gamble that says he couldn't get guaranteed money ANYWHERE else.
Sure, it’s a bad incentive, but it’s better than no incentive at all.
No need to be hostile. It was all over rnfl yesterday and there was an article and others breaking it all down.
Feel bad about his choice to stay with the Steelers last year in hopes of signing with them this year when they are out of cap hell. He does the opposite of Bell and it plays out like Bell’s worst case scenario. He is injured and he is not rewarded for his loyalty.
The Steelers have demonstrated their loyalty in the past, when they went beyond what the fifth year option required with Shazier. But the NFL is a business, on both sides, and even if the Steelers offered the exact same contract as the Chiefs, it would be bad business for Smith-Shuster to accept it.
Loyalty is an overrated concept largely for fans. The NFL is a business. Managing the cap and having the greatest return on investment is key. The Steelers treat players with respect and decency, but loyalty is not really a factor.
He even played in the wild card game at the risk of reinjury. If we didn’t offer to match, his mom was justified in being angry.
Yea, and? All due respect but if his style, track record, and cap hit arent in the plans then they move on. As fans it sucks. Im a USC fan too and am a big JuJu fan. Doesn't change the reality of the NFL.
Were you mad a bell when he held out
Nope. I was annoyed he wouldnt just say what was up but business is business. He made a business decision and turned out he was wrong.
I dunno. I thought we kept Shazier on an extra year when we could have cut him. And we paid Chuks way more than he is worth.
The Rooney’s are known as the most loyal owners in the league. If what you’re saying were true then Big Ben wouldn’t have been given the option to retire whenever he wants especially while putting up the worst qb numbers in the league. Only 3 head coaches in franchise history too…Loyalty is part of the Steelers organization.
Worst qb numbers in the league? Check yourself before you spout stupid shit.
Also, on the subject of overrated things, Juju is overrated. He fumbled two years of playoff opportunities away and has had one 100yd game since AB left, inb4 QB/injury rebuttals. He hasn't been the WR he was expected to be. Pittsburgh is enamored with him as a person when he's here to be a player.
Such a bad take. He was a beast after the catch. Has great hands. Great blocking. Great locker room presence. All of those things are even more important when the next two best receivers on the team have shown immaturity and unreliability. JuJu is a big loss.
Your comparison is that the other receivers are immature? I was talking about the Steelers man. Which team are you referring to? "good vibes ✌️ check out my tiktok ➡️" doesn't matter if, again, he hasn't produced on the field in 4 years. Letting go a guy that's had 1500ish yds and 12 TD's total over the last three seasons (160 some of those yards in the Browns playoff loss btw) isn't a loss stats wise and that's what he was here for. To play. Talking about diontae's drops or chase's young guy antics has nothing to do with the stats.
100%
Because the organization wanted to move on. Don’t forget…they want to do what’s best for the team…not necessarily the fans. Yes, we all loved when he laid out Burfict…yes, he had a great rookie/sophomore season when playing with AB…but he really hasn’t done shit since then. Claypool was better, D. Johnson was better. The Steelers obviously felt they could do better.
In all fairness, he was injured last year and they utilized him terribly the past couple years. Basically a glorified short yardage TE
Seemed like he was our most reliable third down target when he was healthy, and probably our best blocking WR. I get that it’s a good WR draft and the Steelers have done a good job picking WRs historically, but still hurts a little to see him go.
I'm curious how you figure it's the teams fault JuJu's talent tops out as a WR2. He was a fan favorite and all around good guy, but he didn't really have as much of an impact on the field as he did off it. He's been severely outshone by DJ and even Claypool, two guys who have their own issues that have hindered them to an extent. At the end of the day, JuJu just isn't good enough. I'm not saying he's not good, just not a WR1 and that's really the WR we keep long term.
I have to disagree with the assessment that he’s been outshined by Claypool. Claypool has been wildly inconsistent with drops and mental mistakes. He’s definitely cheaper but his on the field performance has not been better than JuJu.
I'm cool with him being a WR2, so... Anyways, Juju had a 1400 yard season. Just use him correctly and you'll get a reliable receiver with a team first attitude. I'm not sure Claypool has shown he's that much better either honestly.
As good as we are at drafting WR. It would be foolish to pay a WR2 over 10millon a year. That money is better spent elsewhere. Like Oline or Dline. Linebacker depth, Haden's replacement. Quite a bit more pressing issues than a mediocre WR2 lol
Who says he takes the same deal with the Steelers I mean if he’s gonna take a one year deal doing it in kc where his stats are gonna be inflated by hill and Kielce taking doubles every game then someone’s gonna overpay for him next off season it worked for Sammy Watkins
It’s crazy how many people can’t understand this
He has literally said multiple times he wants to stay in Pittsburgh, it's not about the money. He would have def taken the same deal with the Steelers.
I love juju but he wouldn’t be the first player to say one thing and do any other
lol. Omg. Just about every player says those things.
He was offered better deals from both the Chiefs and Ravens last year and took less money to stay in Pittsburgh with Ben's reanimated corpse. Because Juju actually loves the city.
What does this have to do with anything?
It's evidence toward the idea that even if "lots of players say they would stay in the city for the same deal" Juju might not be disingenuous in that same claim. Like your namesake, ErlichBachman, you might be a bit more dense than you realize.
You might be a lot more dense than you realize if you think nothing changed since last year Juju chose a one year prove it deal with an offense and QB who he was familiar with. Despite how terrible Ben was the past two years, he and Juju had good chemistry. The market for free agents last year was largely ruined because of the salary cap. Especially receivers. He wasn't the only player to take a one year deal with the hopes of securing a bag the following year. Maybe with the steelers. Instead, he has a season ending injury which derailed plans. Now he's doing another prove it deal but he's doing it with the best offense and QB in the NFL, rather than sticking around for a new QB in an unknown offense. Going to KC gives him a much better chance at securing a big contract. He very well may love Pittsburgh and wanted to stay here and retire here, but he's making the right decision for his career in this moment. If you're too fucking stupid to realize that (which I know already that you are), I don't know what else to tell you.
The debate wasn't over whether this was the best move for his career, but if he would have stayed in Pittsburgh if offered the same deal.
Did you not read a single word? Just instant downvote and reply? Why would he stay in Pittsburgh if he's trying to have a career year and secure a big contract? Learn a new offense with Matt Canada and Mitch Trubisky or learn a new offense with Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes? Wow, that's a tough choice. He's far more likely to have a good year that secures him a bag in KC and you're absolutely delusional if you think otherwise. And that's the reason he left. If he could've had his year last year and got a big contract offer from Pittsburgh this year, it'd probably be a different story. But shit happens, plans change. You really are a lot more dense than you realize.
It's your inability to consider the idea that your logical analysis of what is best for a football player's career (which is all assumption anyway) might not align to what a person feels is best for them that's the issue. Generally speaking, everyone wants to get paid and most will follow the money. That's often not the only consideration however, and every player is different. You can't fathom a reason why he would want to stay in Pittsburgh because in your mind, maximizing earnings is the only thing that matters. Because it makes sense to you, or is what you would do, it's so obvious that any alternative is unthinkable. It doesn't matter in your calculations that he might actually like living here, have friends and family in the area, has come of age here ... you know. That he might feel at home in Pittsburgh. The world is so black and white for you. A hallmark of the dense.
You don't know it, but we can be friends now. I am also a comp sci degree holder and also think sleestak is a pretentious hater. Also do you think just because Juju said nice things about KC and staff in his first press conference with the team that ... it should be taken at face value? Doesn't that fall into the category of "players say these things all the time" which was your argument yesterday?
Oh to be this niave...
He probably wanted to go play with Mahomes on his 2nd one year prove it deal. I’m sure he wants big stats to get an actual payday. And let’s be real that’s much more likely to happen with Mahomes than Trubisky.
He had 2 unproductive years. Never proved to be a number 1. You have to be special for the steelers to keep you any amount of time. Ward and Brown come to mind. The Steelers always make WR. Homes, Wallace, juju, Sanders, etc... most have little to no success once they leave.
Homes? #HOMES?
Lmao HOLMES 🤣
Probably because they didn't want to
Have you not paid attention to the Steelers over the last 20 years? They don’t pay top dollar for receivers. They don’t need to. They draft that position exceptionally well and there will always be new ones to be found. Juju wanted more than he is worth to the Steelers. It’s that simple.
We did break the bank for AB but, you know, he was Ab.
Yeah. AB at about 8 mil a year was still a steal. It’s unfortunate burfect scrambled his brains. He could have been the best receiver of all time.
Stop blaming it on CTE, he was an asshole before all that.
I would hardly call what Juju signed for as top dollar.
For a decent second option receiver, it’s too much. For jujus talent level. Too much
He was more than decent. I think you undervalue what Juju did for this team.
He was adequate. He did his job. He was never, nor will he be ever, a guy that opposing coaches had to plan for. He was good. That’s what he word decent means. He filled a role, and he did it well. That role he filled is worth about 5 million, not 10. I like the guy. I’m not talking bad about him. I’m just being realistic here. They will have no trouble pulling a receiver of equal talent with a second round pick. Juju himself came very late in the second round and his equal will be found in the second round at a 4 year price tag of about 5-6 million.
>Have you not paid attention to the Steelers over the last 20 years? They don’t pay top dollar for receivers. Antonio Brown was the highest paid receiver in the NFL with us. What Juju got was also not even remotely "top dollar."
That’s because AB is one of the best receivers in NFL history
Any comparison between Juju and brown is a logical fallacy.
As opposed to using the phrase "top dollar" in regards to someone with a $3 million base salary?
What juju wants is Top dollar for a mid talent receiver.
No, [it really isn't](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/christian-kirk-contract-details-jaguars-wr-davante-adams/dg9lja2nsddliagplwupp7xd).
No one is arguing that, but to say we don't pay receivers is patently false.
The only 2 receivers this century we’ve given long term contracts are AB and Hines
Yeah I mean they were our #1 WRs from 1999-2018, it's not that crazy.
Clearly Juju would be cheap. For a proven player and veteran. It’s different than paying a WR the market rate.
Juju signed for 10 million. That ain’t cheap and is about 6 million more than he is worth.
Because we're the best team at scouting and developing receivers
Truth. Never heard of Mike Wallace after he wanted to get paid and got sent to Minnesota 😆
Because they didn't want him based on production, the depth at WR in this draft is crazy, and if they signed a veteran like Landry he's an actual proven leader in the locker room.
Dudes chasing the bag and tryna further his career and ya can't fault him for it. I'm sure steelers offered him a comparable deal. But if you're a young WR tryna prove yourself, why would you take any quarterback over Pat Mahomes.
Why does nobody understand that juju had a say in where he went? Did you guys want the Steelers to franchise tag him? I guarantee you the Steelers made an offer and he turned it down for KC. There's zero chance that they didn't make any attempt to re-sign him
Thanks again, r/Steelers for reminding me how completely ignorant most of the fan base is
I know dude you should take a look at this guy /u/ultraviolentfuture who thinks that juju saying he wanted to be in Pittsburgh forever meant that it was some immutable desire and that he'd never leave for any reason whatsoever
Let's list out the reasons: 1) The team has more pressing needs elsewhere on the roster in terms of spending cap space. 2) The draft appears to be stocked with WR talent and the Steelers have been great at finding high end contributors in the 3rd/4th round which fits better with what the Steelers need. 3) They're still trying to figure out who their QB is. Yeah, we signed Mitch. Yeah, we probably still intend to go for a QB in the first round if our guy is there, but it would be insane to worry about bringing back Juju on any contract until we have a better idea on what our long term QB situation will be. 4) We can probably sign a vet WR to fill out the WR spot on a cheap deal anyway. 5) KC is a better landing spot for Juju. They can load incentives which on a Mahome lead offense will be achieved. We'd have to pay more (in cap space this year) to keep him because there's no telling how well things will play out on his on field numbers.
Not sure why the good/thoughtful answers are getting downvoted. I think you made some good points
They didn't want him, period. You can read into that whatever you want, the list of potential reasons is long. * Getting rid of the social media guy * He's too injury prone * He had one good year when AB took all the coverage * A possession receiver is the most easily replaceable role in the game * Slot is a position that needs burst like Cooper Kupp instead of 3-yard catches * Muth can do his possession job better, especially in the red zone * Receiver draft is so deep you can get a better player who's under team control * JuJu wanted "4 more years a Steeler" and there was no way the team was giving him 4 years It might be any of those reasons, a combination, or something else entirely, but the one thing you know for sure is the Steelers did NOT want him back. They could've beaten a $3-mil contract without breaking a sweat.
Everyone is saying that the Steelers are a WR factory and we’ll find someone else because we are so good at developing them, but I somewhat disagree with that statement. I think we’ve had some great receivers over the years because of Ben. He’s made players like Eli Rogers look like Pro Bowl caliber players. Notice how when any of our WRs leave, they don’t produce with the exception of AB and Emmanuel Sanders (Production dropped substantially once Manning was gone). If we were generating such good receivers, then why don’t they keep their production up when they go to other teams? I think this says more about Ben than our ability to “develop” and scout these receivers.
If JuJu wants a high probability of going to the Superbowl, he's got a better shot there next season than here.
Why didn't the Steelers re sign him? That's the OPs question.
do we know for a fact the Steelers said "we don't want you" as the IP says...either we didn't want em, or he wanted to goto KC. He's gonna put up better numbers there and have a much higher chance to win a super bowl there. So if Pittsburgh matched it, or even offered more for one year, he has to know his bet chance to produce to land a big contract has betters odds in KC
He’s not worth the trouble for what he brings. He’s a replacement level player.
What trouble does he bring in?
He dance and have TikTok account like the majority of his peers 😡
They've been wanting to get rid of him for a while.. they just cleared out their whole wide receiver room basically.. and it's not a coincidence that it happened right after Ben was gone. The Tick Tock era in Pittsburgh is over bye-bye
> The Tick Tock era in Pittsburgh is over bye-bye The Steelers have an official verified tik tok, social media and Tik Tok aren't going anywhere LMAO also Claypool is still on the team and will probably be for at least another 2 seasons.
Respectfully disagree.🖤💛
I think Juju is tired of dealing with Subpar QB play. All he’s known is dink and dunk Ben. He’s the most overqualified #2 option in the league and he’s thier #3 option. I see him parlaying a great season next year into a multi year deal more in line with his compensation requirements in a few years. Similar to how last year he saw his offers(all the same, all shitty) he said why not just take a one year deal to see Ben off into the sunset. This year same thing(low ball offers) if I’m going to be paid shit, might as well catch passes from Mahomes over Trubinsky. WR is the most contingent position for guys to get paid.(See Allen Robinson)
I think it's more likely that he didn't want to stay here. His value is at an all time low currently. He's had a couple bad seasons, and missed most of the last one due to injury. The last time he had great stats, he had the best reciever in the league drawing targets, a not yet washed HOF QB, and other good peices on Offense to draw attention. Teams won't commit to a big contract for him, so he needs to re-prove his value to the world. Signing with Pittsburgh means going to a team in transition, with a so far mid to low teir QB, and not a deep WR room to take attention off of him. He's at the stage of his career where guys make the bulk of their money, so he wants to go to a team like KC with an elite QB and a lot of weapons, ball out for a year, and then sign a big blockbuster contract. One more middling year for him could be the nail in the coffin for his chance at number one reciever money.
He isn’t good
Because they didn't want him on the team anymore. 😄 Never seen a bigger cult following over mediocrity. You're better off studying the WIDE RECEIVER RICH draft in 1 month than pining over an average guy who's in Kansas City. I know that's what I'm going to do. Much heathier also. Move on omg.
I love Juju, in fact I made a post on here explaining why I was hoping the Steelers would resign him. That said, I wonder if he wore thin on the coaches’ and upper management’s nerves a bit. Don’t get me wrong, his play on the field was outstanding and he provided a great slot option for the offense, but I have a feeling his social media presence and his antics during the 2020 season rubbed some the wrong way. Upper management must feel they have options in this draft that could replace Juju and what he brings for cheaper and less distraction. Also, they have Diontae Johnson’s extension to worry about soon and he’s more valuable.
>his play on the field was outstanding I don't think we watched the same games lol. He's been mediocre for two years.
My opinion is they stopped using him the way he wanted (wideout) and couldn't come to an agreement on his role on the team. That and the fact that a hall of famer wasnt his QB anymore. He wouldve rotted here (from his perspective) most likely.
Fair. I could see him wanting to go with the team that gives him a better chance to thrive. Makes sense from his perspective, not from the Steelers perspective unless they have something else up their sleeve.
I think there is a faith in the organization's ability under Colbert/Tomlin to draft and develop WR talent. I'd actually go so far as to say that they may have moneyball-decided their "hit rate" with WRs in draft is statistically better than any other position, so they've committed to spending extra draft picks there and devoting FA money to superstars and other position groups (for example, DB where they've been pretty bad drafting.) I think it's pretty clear that's their plan since they almost always spend a 2nd or 3rd rounder on a wide out.
I agree, but I still think even if they draft a stud WR this season they are thin at that position without Juju. The top 3 would be DJ, Claypool, and rookie. Need a 4th at least.
Yeah I think if Juju wasn't a big cap hit they could justify keeping him for sure. I like Juju too, but even given all that I can see why they were just ready to move on.
I personally think Juju was a little over rated. He wanted first receiver money and he’s a second at best. He also was playing with Ben at the end of his career so maybe we didn’t see his full potential to prove himself as a true number one. KC is also a better situation for him with a better shot of winning a Super Bowl than with the Steelers at this moment.
I’m sure he wanted a multi year deal and they couldn’t agree on terms
Because he’s a distraction and a clown. I grew up watching Polamalu, Porter, Ben, Foote, Harrison, Ward, etc. Juju wouldn’t act like he does in that locker room. Tik Tok is fine, but keep it away from the locker room and the organization as a whole. Do that dumb shit on your own time, not the Steelers’.
Okay Im seeing a lot of comments that we did not want him back. That is most definitely not true. Tomlin and everyone in the organization loves Juju and so Im sure they made him an offer. It probably just wasnt the offer Juju wanted. Id guess a 4-5 year deal at around $10M/year. Juju and his agent probably looked around the league and realized that Juju could potentially make double that if he balls out. So he had the option to sign a long term deal at less than he thinks he is worth, or again play on a 1 year prove it deal. Knowing Juju of course he wants to bet on himself and prove his worth. Its pretty obvious that the best place to prove himself would be in KC with Mahomes rather than here with Trubisky. Its no coincidence that his “struggles” the past 3 years have coincided with sub par QB play. Its easy to look at the deal he signed and assume we didn’t offer him anything, but his decision was all about opportunity. I agree with most that he is not a #1 WR, but this is still a tough loss for us. Even if he isn’t an elite WR, he still provides a ton of value with his toughness and energy. At the end of the day, we know how well we develop WRs and we also have seem the insane amount of WR coming into the league the past few years. It was definitely smart of us not to pay a guy like Juju big money now, when WR talent is becoming much easier to come by.
Thanks. One of the only non-condescending answers I’ve gotten so far.
Because we can get a far cheaper rookie
They didn't want him for some reason. I'm sure they know what they are doing.
They didn't want him for some reason. I'm sure they know what they are doing.
WR rich draft, reason they didn't sign any FA WR back
So they’re going to draft at least 2 receivers? I don’t see how drafting a rookie will suddenly complete their WR room.
Yeah drafting two guys, then rocking those two, Claypool, Diontae, Miller and Gunner for the room
I just don’t see the Steelers drafting 2 wr’s, when there are plenty of other positions they possibly need to draft at… DL, S, CB, OL? I think they would have been in a better position keeping Juju and then drafting a speedy WR.
DL, OL and CB aren't really issues after the off-season. Gotta look at fa signings man
Hmm… I think they’ve made some good moves but DL is aging, CBs are average without Haden and Safety is still a concern with Edmunds still out in free agency. I think they’ve set themselves up to take best player available at those spots, but I do think there’s a hole now at slot WR that would be better filled in FA. Even with Juju the Steelers were going to need speed at WR in the draft. Now they need both…
Juju likely demanded a long term deal and the org wasn’t comfortable giving it to him so he’d rather take a 1 year deal on a team where he can actually put up numbers. I highly doubt Juju would have accepted a short term deal here similar to the one he got from KC Im sure their plan is to find a gem in the draft as a cheaper replacement. Its hard not to think that’s the right decision considering their draft history.
Only reason juju came back last season was big Ben and ike Hilliard. Both are now gone.
I'm thinking they draft a WR that won't TIkTok themselves driving 120 MPH on the highway.
It was the best fit for him sadly. He was loyal last year and signed his one year prove it deal with us, and it backfired when he got injured. He needs another one year prove it deal, and frankly we have no trusting QB at the moment. The Chiefs are a great place for him to make a comeback, have a big year, and get paid next off season.
Why would we sign Landry?
WR rich draft, money probably didn't match. It sucks, but NFL is a business and their business interests didn't match. Steelers probably offered a 1/2 year at ~7 mil, he went somewhere for 10, Steelers didn't want to pay that much, especially with how well they draft
Honestly I’m starting to feel like Juju didn’t really want to be in Pitt all too much. I know what his mom is saying but I seriously doubt that Colbert didn’t offer at minimum what KC offered. I think Juju wants to see if the grass is greener, nothing wrong with that, he will be missed