JuJu Smith-Schuster is headed to the Patriots.
The veteran receiver agreed to a three-year, $33 million contract with New England on Wednesday according to multiple reports. Smith-Schuster took to Twitter shortly after news of the deal broke to send a message to his new team.
“Excited for my next chapter in New England!” he wrote. “I will give this organization everything I have, thank you for believing in me!”
Smith-Schuster’s deal is nearly identical to the one that Jakobi Meyers reportedly agreed to with the Las Vegas Raiders — something Meyers alluded to on Twitter. That said, while Meyers’ deal contains $21 million guaranteed, Smith-Schuster’s includes $22.5 million “earned” over the first two years of the deal, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. That could mean it’s an incentive-laden contract, but we’ll have to wait until the details come out.
Still just 26 years old, Smith-Schuster is coming off a resurgent season with the Kansas City Chiefs, for whom he posted 78 catches for 933 yards and three touchdowns in 2022. His best season remains his breakout 2018 campaign, in which he racked up 111 catches for 1,426 yards and seven TDs for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Patriots reportedly also have shown interest in DeAndre Hopkins, Odell Beckham Jr. and Jerry Jeudy.
