Smith-Schuster replaces Meyers
Slowly but surely, the Patriots are addressing their roster holes in free agency.
On Wednesday, that meant padding their offensive tackle depth, adding a running back and replacing Jakobi Meyers.
According to a source, the Pats and Chiefs wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster agreed to terms on a free-agent deal. It’s a three-year, $33 million contract with $16 million guaranteed, per the NFL Network. The Patriots also struck a two-year, $8 million deal with former Jets and Jaguars running back James Robinson late Wednesday night, according to a source.
Smith-Schuster, 26, is coming off a rebound season in Kansas City, where he caught 78 passes for 933 yards and three touchdowns. His addition will help offset the loss of Meyers, who left to sign a similar three-year, $33 million deal with the Raiders on Tuesday. Smith-Schuster jumps to the top of the Pats’ receiver depth chart, joining DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne and Tyquan Thornton.
Shortly after the deal was reported, Smith-Schuster tweeted: “Excited for my next chapter in New England! I will give this organization everything I have, thank you for believing in me!”
Smith-Schuster started his career with a five-year stint in Pittsburgh. The Steelers selected him in the second round of the 2017 draft, and he made the Pro Bowl in 2018 after setting a career high with 1,426 receiving yards. Since then, he’s topped 800 yards just twice, though he scored nine touchdowns on 97 catches in 2020 and was limited to five games due to injury the following year.
His final season in Pittsburgh prompted a oneyear, prove-it deal with the Chiefs, which carried a base value of $3.76 million and maximum value of more than $11 million. SmithSchuster finished second in receiving for Kansas City and averaged 9.2 yards per target, most among their regular receivers. He also finished with a team-high seven catches for 53 yards in Super Bowl LVII.
Smith-Schuster last faced the Patriots in the team’s 2019 season opener, which Pittsburgh lost 33-3. He finished with six catches for a team-best 78 yards. Before the game, Pats coach Bill Belichick said of SmithSchuster: “He’s a good player. He’s instinctive, catches the ball well. He’s got good size, smart.”
Before a road loss at Pittsburgh in 2018, SmithSchuster’s breakout year,
Belichick praised his newest receiver saying: “He’s a dynamic player, tremendous player — great with the ball in his hands, great hands, makes some spectacular catches, hard to tackle. So, he’s very good.”
Splitting time between the Jets and Jaguars, Robinson rushed for 3.9 yards per carry last year. He totaled 425 yards and three touchdowns, all scored with Jacksonville, which traded him midseason. Robinson’s arrival indicates the Pats will part ways with veteran running back Damien Harris, an unrestricted free agent.
Until Smith-Schuster signed, the Pats’ biggest free agency splash was reportedly landing offensive tackle Riley Reiff on
Wednesday morning. Reiff, an 11-year veteran, started 10 games last season at right tackle with the Bears and can play both sides. The Patriots expect him to win a starting job in training camp, per The Athletic.
Reiff started his career at left tackle and has enjoyed previous stints in Detroit (2012-16), Minnesota (’1720), Cincinnati (2021) and Chicago (2022). Last season, Reiff allowed pressure on 6.1% of his pass-blocking snaps, per Pro Football Focus, and posted an average run-blocking grade. In New England, he joins Trent Brown and the newlysigned Calvin Anderson as the top contenders to start at offensive tackle next season.
The Patriots had a revolving door at right tackle last year between Isaiah Wynn, Yodny Cajuste and Conor McDermott. Reiff might also serve as a swing tackle if Brown, Anderson and/or a draft pick win the starting jobs. The 34-year-old is a former captain who also crossed paths with Pats interior lineman James Ferentz in college Iowa.
In a postseason press conference, Bears GM Ryan Poles raved about Reiff’s impact on his young team. Reiff initially backed up young starter Larry Odom, then took over once Odom got hurt midseason.
“That guy did more than a lot of people think for that O-line room and the mentality,” Poles said. “When I first got here, I wasn’t fired up on how we protected the quarterback in terms of getting ’em off the ground and that attitude and that physicality. He’s a reason why we ran the ball so well. We finished. We had an attitude. We had an identity and that’s a lot because of guys like him.”
Reiff played only one snap in the Patriots’ 33-14 loss to Chicago last October, but started the team’s final 10 games. He also started all 12 games he played in with the Bengals in 2021.
While Reiff is expected to compete for a starting job, fifth-year backup Yodny Cajuste should again fight for a roster spot in training camp. The Patriots tendered Cajuste, a restricted free agent, at an originalround level Wednesday, according to a source.
By virtue of the tender, Cajuste should return on a one-year, $2.73 million deal, which is non-guaranteed. Opposing teams can still approach Cajuste with an offer sheet, but if he signs, the Pats can either match to keep him or receive a third-round pick as compensation.
Cajuste has made five starts in 17 games appearances the past two seasons. He lost his top reserve role to Conor McDermott late last year. After McDermott earned his first start on Dec. 1, Cajuste saw just six offensive snaps the rest of the season. The Pats resigned McDermott earlier this month.
The Patriots drafted Cajuste in the third round of the 2019 draft out of West Virginia. He missed his first two seasons due to injury, then made the team as a backup in 2021. Cajuste is a restricted free agent because his contract expired before he could accrue four years of league service. The 27-year-old was not credited with a year of league service as a rookie, when he spent the entire season on the NonFootball Injury list.