Getty Images Chase Claypool and JuJu Smith-Schuster of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster continues to maintain that he does not regret giving the Cleveland Browns some bulletin board material prior to their playoff matchup last month.
In fact, the only regret Smith-Schuster has about the situation is that he didn’t trademark “the Browns is the Browns” before it went viral.
“I said what I said. I’m not gonna change it back,” Smith-Schuster said Tuesday during an appearance on Fox Sports Radio with Doug Gottlieb, also admitting he was talking trash. “They’ve got a billboard now in Cleveland, just because of me. I should’ve trademarked it then — could’ve got some money off of it.”
📺@TeamJuJu: “I said what I said. I’m not gonna change it back. They’ve got a billboard now in Cleveland just because of me. I should’ve trademarked it then…could’ve got some money off of it…”
Full Interview: t.co/iQo7OAYghO
That’s consistent with what Smith-Schuster said after the 48-37 loss to the Browns that ended the Steelers season.
“I don’t regret saying what I said,” he said in a postgame Zoom call, per NFL.com. “I said the Browns is the Browns. They came out and played a hell of a game. There’s been games where you lose some, you win some, and today wasn’t our night. Hopefully, the same Browns show up against the next opponent, and they go out there and do the same thing they did tonight and have a hell of a game.”
Steelers Have Decision to Make on JuJu Smith-Schuster
GettyPittsburgh Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Smith-Schuster is a free agent this offseason and the Steelers have to decide if they want to ink him — and his sometimes immature antics — to a new deal.
“I’m always about winning,” Smith-Schuster told Gottlieb. “I am always down to be on a team that is fighting and competing for the playoffs every year. As far as the business side and the money, I want to be paid for what I am worth. For what I do for this team particularly. Then again, it all makes sense to bring in Ben [Roethlisberger] and have a quarterback that I can play with for the future.”
It appears he has some support in the Steelers locker room. After Smith-Schuster was trolled by Cleveland for his “Browns is the Browns” comments, rookie pass-catcher Chase Claypool came out swinging for his teammate.
“If the Browns had won with more class, then I wouldn’t have been so salty about it, but them mocking JuJu [Smith-Schuster] during the game and after the game just didn’t sit right with me,” Claypool said. “They were just super classless, you know against JuJu, towards JuJu what they were saying on the field towards the end of the game, so I’m not going to have respect for a team that doesn’t have respect for us.”
Jarvis Landry: Browns Still Hungry for More Success
With a young core and some key pieces in place, the Browns are set up for success and will have an opportunity to build on their Divisional Round exit next season. Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry recently joined CBS Sports to talk about some of the expectations heading into next year.
“We continue to grow… the hungry, never satisfied type of attitude, the mentality we need is in the building.”
@God_Son80 on the Browns mentality headed into the 2021 season!
“We continue to grow. The mentality that we need is in the building. We just have to keep building on it and never feel entitled in this league. It’s any given Sunday. We have to continue to know that the things we did last year don’t count this year. We have to go out there and prove it again.”
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Steelers’ JuJu Smith-Schuster Doubles-Down on Browns Criticism