Jerod Mayo breaks silence on Patriots abruptly cutting JuJu Smith-Schuster 

The New England Patriots made a sudden move on Friday, releasing wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster after just one season with the team. In a year where the Patriots are retooling all over again, releasing Smith-Schuster proved that New England is operating differently from previous years.

This is a team that drafted two wide receivers in 2024 and knows that Drake Maye will need more weapons to develop his potential. Smith-Schuster, however, doesn't inspire confidence at this point of his career, and the team decided to cut bait sooner rather than later.

Speaking about the decision to let the veteran wide receiver go, head coach Jerod Mayo stated that his knee injury was a factor, but giving reps to the younger receivers also played a part in his release:

“Yeah, it was a decision between Eliot and myself, really to give the younger guys an opportunity to go out there and get more reps and show what they can do. We just want him to get healthy. He still has some good ball left in him and I wish him nothing but the best.”

He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers and later moved to the Kansas City Chiefs, where he won a Super Bowl in 2022. Even though he signed a three-year contract with Robert Kraft's team, he lasted a single season.

JuJu Smith-Schuster isn't living up to the expectations of his career

After the 2018 season, when he amassed 1,426 yards in a year when Antonio Brown started to fall off with the Steelers, the young wide receiver was supposed to become the leader of the team.

But he couldn't do it.

JuJu started to garner more attention due to his TikTok dances than his performance on the field, especially as it started to ruffle some feathers with opposing players. Although he signed a new contract with the team, it wasn't even an extension: he signed a one-year, prove-it deal that didn't work out as well.

Even though he won the Super Bowl with the Chiefs, the team also decided against keeping him. He'll need to work harder than ever to salvage his career.