Rumors have the Chiefs bringing back a familiar face at wide receiver.
Every team is expected to make some surprising moves in the same week that NFL roster cuts are due, but the Kansas City Chiefs got the rumor mill churning early on Monday morning with the news that wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster was making a comeback.
NFL reporter Jordan Schultz quotes multiple sources saying the Chiefs are bringing back the veteran after a year away from the team in New England.
Smith-Schuster is likely coming to the Chiefs as a low-cost flyer at a position where concerns continue to cloud the offensive picture after the preseason, especially with a sternoclavicular injury to key free agent signing Hollywood Brown.
The Chiefs enjoyed a very productive season in Smith-Schuster's lone year with the team back in 2022, the first of the team's consecutive Super Bowl wins coming into this season. Smith-Schuster led all wide receivers with 78 catches for 933 yards and 3 touchdowns that season working alongside Travis Kelce to anchor the passing attack.
Smith-Schuster had joined the Chiefs on a one-year deal in the hopes of enjoying a year of health and solid production, thereby rebuilding some of his value on the open market that had been lost through injury-riddled seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The New England Patriots bit and offered him a three-year deal in free agency, only to see Smith-Schuster injured time and again in his lone season in Foxborough.
The Patriots decided to cut Smith-Schuster in early August in order to clear the picture at wideout for the team. Head coach Jerod Mayo explained that it would open up playing time for younger players, including recent draftees like Javon Baker and Ja'Lynn Polk.
Smith-Schuster is still a significant question mark for the Chiefs, since his arrival in K.C. doesn't include a time machine ride back to healthier days. That said, the team's medical staff obviously had luck keeping him on the field. In addition, it's not as if the Chiefs are paying much here given that the Patriots owe so much in guaranteed money to Smith-Schuster as it is.
The #Chiefs are likely getting JuJu Smith-Schuster at his veteran minimum $1.21M for 2024, as the #Patriots are on the hook for $7M minus whatever he earns elsewhere this season. https://t.co/1HDinsminJ
— Spotrac (@spotrac) August 26, 2024
How this affects the rest of the team and depth chart will be revealed as the Chiefs pare down their roster from 90 to 53.