Getty New England Patriots wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster talked about his first return to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers.
Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster spent the first five seasons of his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Counting the playoffs, he’s played 35 games at Acrisure Stadium (although it was called Heinz Field when Smith-Schuster played in Pittsburgh).
Week 14 will be the first time he plays at Acrisure Stadium as a member of the road team.
Smith-Schuster expressed to the media on December 5 how thrilled he is about returning to play in Pittsburgh.
“I am excited. First time going back,” Smith-Schuster told reporters. “It will be cool to see Mike Tomlin and play against those boys, but just go out there and get a win.”
The 27-year-old receiver is in his first season with the New England Patriots. After five years in Pittsburgh, he played with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022.
JuJu Smith-Schuster Faces Steelers in First Return to Pittsburgh
Not only will December 7 be Smith-Schuster’s first trip to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers, it will be the first occasion where he plays against the team that drafted him.
Smith-Schuster has faced 31 of the 32 NFL teams during his career. The Steelers are the last remaining team he has never played against in his career.
The Steelers drafted Smith-Schuster at No. 62 overall in the second round of the 2017 NFL draft. He averaged 15.8 yards per reception on his way to 917 yards as a rookie.
In 2018, he became a dominant receiver starting opposite 4-time All-Pro Antonio Brown. Smith-Schuster recorded a career-high 111 receptions and 1,426 receiving yards that season.
But after the Steelers traded Brown to the then-Oakland Raiders in 2019, Smith-Schuster was never again a dominant receiving threat.
Opposing defenses began game planning for him, but injuries have also slowed Smith-Schuster in his career. During his final season with the Steelers, he missed all but the first five games of the regular season because of a shoulder injury.
Smith-Schuster, though, recovered in time to play in Pittsburgh’s Wild Card matchup against the Chiefs.
In five seasons with the Steelers, the 27-year-old posted 323 receptions, 3,855 receiving yards and 26 touchdowns in 63 games. He had 78 catches and 933 yards for the Chiefs last season.
Smith-Schuster had 7 receptions for 53 yards in Kansas City’s Super Bowl victory last season.
But without Ben Roethlisberger or Patrick Mahomes throwing him passes in 2023, Smith-Schuster has just 25 catches for 170 yards and a touchdown in New England this season.
Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin Shares His Respect for JuJu Smith-Schuster
If the Steelers learned anything from their 24-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on December 3, it’s that previous statistics aren’t indicative of how a matchup will go.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin implied in his December 4 press conference that they won’t be taking Smith-Schuster lightly despite his lack of big plays this season.
“JuJu Smith-Schuster, obviously we’re very familiar with him. Tough guy, football player, got a lot of respect for JuJu,” Tomlin told reporters. “I know he’s been limited in some ways due to injury, but I hadn’t followed it very closely to speak on it in that way, particularly from an evaluation perspective.
“But got a lot of respect for him in the quality of work that he provided us when he was here and the type of player and teammate he was when he was here.”
Smith-Schuster has been dealing with an ankle injury this season. He also suffered a concussion, which caused him to miss two games.
This will be the second week in a row a member from the Steelers’ 2017 draft class will visit Acrisure Stadium. Running back James Conner scored 2 touchdowns for the Cardinals in their 14-point victory in Week 13.
The Steelers are obviously hoping to do a better job containing Smith-Schuster than they did Conner.