Admittedly, JuJu Smith-Schuster's explanation for his sudden return to the Steelers doesn't add up. Days before free agency started, the flamboyant wideout was reportedly bidding farewell to his teammates, even posting an image of himself on social media sporting a Dolphins jersey.
Then on Friday, he re-signed with the Steelers, professing his love for Pittsburgh in the process. It's easy to see what happened here: JuJu came crawling back to the Steelers after his market had failed to develop.
But so what? The Steelers are better with Smith-Schuster, and frankly, more fun. This is more exciting than retaining Mike Hilton, with all due respect to the veteran corner.
From a purely football standpoint, Smith-Schuster may be a slightly superfluous piece. Diontae Johnson, despite his drops, seems ready to ascend to the No. 1 spot. Along with Chase Claypool and James Washington, the Steelers boast three of the most dynamic young wideouts in the league.
But the cost to retaining Smith-Schuster was low, and best of all, only comes with a $2.4 million cap hit. Smith-Schuster isn't the reason Pittsburgh seems destined to move on from Steven Nelson. His apparent fate was sealed when the Steelers opted to keep Joe Haden around.
We know JuJu isn't the same player as when he was lining up beside Antonio Brown. He only averaged 8.6 yards per catch last season — good for 126 among NFL receivers. As it turns out, he might not be a true No. 1.
But that's OK. He's still reeled in an average of 83 catches and 936 yards over the last three seasons, and several of those games came with Mason Rudolph and Devlin "Duck" Hodges under center.
While Smith-Schuster's market obviously didn't explode, it's clear there were other opportunities out there. The Ravens and Chiefs reportedly offered him deals. Adam Schefter, our NFL Insider of Record, continues to report there were conversations between Smith-Schuster's representatives and the Eagles (even if Team JuJu started the outreach).
JuJu coming back to the Steelers on a one-year deal is a vote of confidence in Ben Roethlisberger and the operation. He wants to rebuild his value, and thought this was the best place to do it.
Predictably, Smith-Schuster is already receiving flak from some who are questioning whether his declared love for Pittsburgh is enough to keep him around beyond Roethlisberger's retirement. That's a wildly unfair question to ask, considering we don't know who will be Roethlisberger's replacement. Why would any good receiver willingly stick around on a team with a bad QB?
Subconsciously, the criticism about Smith-Schuster always comes back to his colorful social media presence. People don't appreciate his nearly 4 million Instagram followers, as if he's the only athlete curating his own brand. Riddle me this: is there a single athlete on this planet more dedicated to his brand than Tom Brady?
You can post on Instagram and win at the same time.
As head coach, Mike Tomlin is the person who's most culpable for any of the organization's cultural issues. Smith-Schuster was a rookie when Tomlin prematurely touted an AFC Championship rematch with the Patriots, only to bow out in the Divisional Round to Jacksonville.
The Steelers are still behind the Ravens and Browns, with or without Smith-Schuster. But they're a little closer with him, and for at least one more season, we get to see one of the game's biggest personalities on a daily basis.
That's a bit more exciting than Vince Williams, don't you think?
