The same day the Pittsburgh Steelers were dealing with significant injury concerns at wide receiver, a former Pro Bowler for the team at wideout tried out for an NFC North foe.
According to the NFL transaction wire, ex-Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster visited the Minnesota Vikings on Monday for a tryout. He was one of three wideouts to work out for the Vikings to begin this week.
Smith-Schuster spent the first five years of his NFL career with the Steelers. He made the Pro Bowl with the club while registering a career-high 111 catches and 1,426 receiving yards during 2018, which was his second season. Smith-Schuster also had seven touchdown that season.
Since leaving the Steelers in March 2022, Smith-Schuster has played for the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots. He was most recently with the New York Giants during training camp.
Smith-Schuster tried out for the Vikings hours before Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters receivers Roman Wilson and Ben Skowronek both won’t be able to play in Week 6. Wilson and Skowronek each suffered injuries Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. They left the game and didn’t return.
The Steelers also don’t have veteran starting wideout Michael Pittman Jr. Pittman landed on injured reserve for Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Former Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster Tries Out for Vikings
Early in his tenure, Smith-Schuster appeared to be the next great Steelers receiver. But after Antonio Brown departed the team following Smith-Schuster’s Pro Bowl campaign, Smith-Schuster wasn’t able to recapture his Pro Bowl caliber play.
Then as the Steelers continued to add receivers such as Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool for additional depth, Smith-Schuster started to become less important for Pittsburgh to retain. They allowed Smith-Schuster to become a free agent in 2022 after he missed most of the 2021 campaign because of injury.
The Steelers selected the wideout at No. 62 overall in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Over five seasons in Pittsburgh, Smith-Schuster had 323 catches, 3,855 receiving yards and 26 touchdowns.
In 2022, the receiver had 933 receiving yards for the Chiefs, helping Kansas City win another Super Bowl. He became a free agent again after one year and signed with the Patriots.
Following one season in New England, Smith-Schuster returned to the Chiefs. However, he hasn’t been the same receiver since 2022. Smith-Schuster hasn’t reached 400 receiving yards in any of the past three campaigns.
Last season, he had 33 catches, 345 receiving yards and one touchdown.
Steelers WR Depth Concerns Entering Week 6
Smith-Schuster resurfaced with his Monday workout in Minnesota at an intriguing time for the Steelers receiver room. McCarthy already ruled out both Wilson and Skowronek for the Week 6 matchup versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
That will leave the Steelers with rookie Germie Bernard as the team’s likely starter opposite D.K. Metcalf. The only other healthy receivers on the active roster are fellow rookies Kaden Wetjen and Eli Heidenreich.
Both of those first-year players, though, arguably aren’t receivers. The Steelers have used Wetjen mostly as a returner, which is what he focused on during his college career. Heidenreich is a running back who had some college experience as a slot wideout.
In Week 5, the Steelers elevated receiver Brandon Smith from the practice squad. Smith probably has a better chance of playing a role for Pittsburgh’s offense this Sunday than Wetjen or Heidenreich.
The question, though, is whether the Steelers add Smith to the active roster or perhaps sign another veteran receiver. Despite his tryout with the Vikings, Smith-Schuster remains available. However, there’s no indication the Steelers are interested in a reunion.
Smith-Schuster has been available for large amounts of the 2026 calendar, and the Steelers haven’t showed any interest in their former second-round pick. It’s only more possible a reunion could happen now because the team has a rash of injuries at receiver.
Ex-Steelers’ JuJu Smith-Schuster Gets Tryout With NFC Foe