With the 2024 NFL preseason concluded, the Kansas City Chiefs face the difficult challenge winning the Super Bowl for the third year in a row, a feat no team has ever accomplished. While they have most of the roster pieces that are needed for such a run, there is one position that has many unanswered questions: wide receiver.
Second-year pass catcher Rashee Rice showed a great deal of potential as a rookie last season, catching 79 passes for 938 yards and seven touchdowns. However, the quality of depth at the position after him was shaky at best going into the offseason.
Marquis “Hollywood” Brown was signed as a free agent during the offseason, but he suffered a shoulder injury in the Chiefs’ first preseason game and could miss the start of the season. Xavier Worthy was selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft but is not a proven NFL pass catcher yet.
Kansas City knew something had to be done at the position before Week One, so they turned to an old friend for reinforcement.
The Kansas City Chiefs Have Signed Wide Receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster
On Monday morning, news broke that the Chiefs had decided to sign wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, who played for them during the 2022 NFL season and won Super Bowl LVII with the team:
Reunion: Veteran WR JuJu Smith-Schuster is signing with the #Chiefs, per source. pic.twitter.com/bHdEHBkLWV
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 26, 2024
In his lone season with the Chiefs, Smith-Schuster had 78 receptions for 933 yards and three touchdowns. He had seven receptions for 53 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl.
Kansas City Chiefs Wide Receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster Is Looking to Rebound Again
Smith-Schuster started his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who took him in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He made an immediate impact as a rookie, catching 58 passes for 917 yards and seven touchdowns.
He was even better in his second season, 2018, catching 111 passes for 1,426 yards and seven more touchdowns. That year, he also was named to the Pro Bowl.
His next three seasons in Pittsburgh, though, were not nearly as productive. His 2020 season that saw him catch 97 passes for 831 yards and nine touchdowns were sandwiched between 2019 and 2021 that saw him miss significant time. His final year with the Steelers saw him play just five games, recording just 15 catches for 129 yards.
As mentioned above, he had a rebound year in 2022 with the Chiefs before heading off to New England to play for the Patriots. They, of course, did do well as a team last year, finishing 4-13. Smith-Schuster had 29 receptions for 260 yards and a touchdown while playing in just 11 games.
The Patriots released him early in training camp. Now he is back in Kansas City hoping that his second stint with the Chiefs will be as successful as his first.
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