This past offseason, only three free agent wide receivers signed contracts that paid more money on an annual basis than the contract the New England Patriots gave to JuJu Smith-Schuster. After spending a season catching passes from Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City, Smith-Schuster inked a three-year, $25.5 million pact to head to Foxborough.
Fast forward a few months, and apparently, the Patriots do not believe that Smith-Schuster is currently one of the team's five best pass-catchers. That's according to a report from The Boston Herald, which came in the wake of Smith-Schuster catching 4 of 7 targets for 33 yards while playing only 54% of the team's snaps in a Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Smith-Schuster ran fewer routes (29) than both Kendrick Bourne (56) and rookie sixth-rounder pick Kayshon Boutte (45) in Week 1, and outrouted sixth-rounder Demario Douglas (27) by only two. Late in the game, when the Patriots were driving for a potential game-winning score, he was not out on the field with the first offense.
There were reports throughout the offseason that Smith-Schuster was dealing with a knee injury, and last week Sports Illustrated reported that Smith-Schuster's knee "is a mess" and "could explode at any point," which motivated the Patriots to keep additional receivers on the 53-man roster.
Asked about Smith-Schuster's health, Bill Belichick was characteristically mum, noting, "You know what the injury report was, with the injuries during the game and all that. So that's the best I can tell you."
Whether it's due to health, performance, or trust of the coaching staff, it seems Smith-Schuster is falling behind in the pecking order among New England's receivers. When DeVante Parker comes back from his injury, he should be ahead of Smith-Schuster as well. Throw in tight ends Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki, plus running back Rhamondre Stevenson, and it seems like there are quite a few players the team can rely on more than him at the moment.