Patriots Cut Ties With ‘Bust’ Bill Belichick Signing: Report

Getty Patriots WR JuJu Smith-Schuster

When it comes transactions involving wide receivers and the New England Patriots, this is probably not what fans have in mind these days. According to ESPN, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, one of the lingering mistakes from the many missteps made by Bill Belichick in his waning Patriots years, is being released.

As Jeremy Fowler wrote on Twitter/X, “Patriots are releasing JuJu Smith-Schuster, per source.

Thus ends a pretty sad-sack Patriots stint for Smith-Schuster, who was clearly not healthy when joining the Patriots last season on a three-year, $25 million contract. Smith-Schuster was healthy for just 11 games of that three-year deal, totaling 206 yards.

One of the sad follies of last season, in fact, came after early reports on the fragile state of his knee following his signing in the wake of winning a Super Bowl championship with the Chiefs, which Smith-Schuster at first denied. He later conceded, though, that he was injured when the Patriots signed him.

JuJu Smith-Schuster Knee Controversy

That drama began just before the start of last season, when, SI.com insider Albert Breer said on NBC Sports Boston that, “The underrated story here: JuJu Smith Schuster’s knee is a mess, and that thing could explode at any point. So, you almost have to keep an extra receiver because of that.”

Breer’s report made it sound as though Smith-Schuster had been hiding the truth about his knee when the took $25 million from the Patriots. The receiver took umbrage, and (via MassLive.com) labeled Breer a reporter, “trying to find a story . . . that’s how the world works, right?”

But his play on the field showed that Breer was onto something. And later, Schuster-Smith finally admitted that, yes, his knee was not right in 2023 and he required “clean-up surgery” after the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win.

“Last year (in May) I was probably at like 60%. Right now I’m like 100%. So it’s a big difference,” Smith-Schuster said. “It’s not easy coming off a knee injury and having a long season and coming back really short.”

Smith-Schuster quickly earned the “bust” label in New England. A Sporting News headline wondered, “What happened to JuJu Smith-Schuster? How Steelers sendoff is now Patriots free agency bust,” and the Pittsburgh site, Steeler Nation, wrote, “The Patriots’ experiment with Smith-Schuster has been a bust.”

Patriots Receiver Crew Being Rebuilt

On Thursday against the Panthers, in the Patriots’ opener of the preseason, the team’s four quarterbacks targeted 12 different receivers. Smith-Schuster, to the surprise of no one, was not among them.

He was clearly never going anywhere with this team, which attempted to rebuild the receiver group quickly this offseason, making an earnest pursuit of free-agent Calvin Ridley, who ultimately signed in Tennessee and also attempting to trade for 49ers star Brandon Aiyuk, a pursuit they only gave up on this week.

As it stands, the wide receivers are low on experience but could be higher on upside than most give them credit for. Veteran anchor Kendrick Bourne will be back off the PUP list after ACL surgery. After missing out on Ridley, the Patriots did add K.J. Osborn from the Vikings in free agency. He’s a sure bet, too, for a roster spot.

Demario Douglas, after an electric rookie season, is a sure bet, too.

Rookies Ja’Lynn Polk (second rounder) and Javon Baker (fourth rounder) will stick as well, bringing the Pats to five receivers. They could carry six, which would mean one spot to be decided among: Tyquan Thornton, Kayshon Boutte, Jalen Reagor and the field, including JaQuae Jackson, who caught a 38-yard touchdown from Joe Milton III on Thursday.