On Monday, the Kansas City Chiefs brought back a familiar face in wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, resigning him ahead of the 2024 regular season.
Smith-Schuster spoke to reporters after Tuesday’s practice for the first since re-signing with the Chiefs. He explained his decision to rejoin Kansas City after being released by the New England Patriots.
“Just very familiar with the offense. Very familiar with (Head Coach) Andy Reid, Pat (Patrick Mahomes) (and) the guys. “Just being in this facility makes your job a lot easier than going somewhere new, where you kind of got to learn everything pretty quickly,” said Smith-Schuster. “I think the hardest part for an offensive player is going into a new system and having to study a whole new playbook. Being in New England, I studied two playbooks and two offensive playbooks. Being familiar with this playbook.”
Smith-Schuster recorded 29 catches for 260 yards in 11 games (7 starts) last season for the struggling Patriots. He was Patrick Mahomes’ favorite target during the 2022 season and hopes to continue that familiarity in 2024, regardless of whether he’s ready for the regular season opener against the Baltimore Ravens.
“Too early to say I just got the playbook. So it’s, some things have changed,” said Smith-Schuster, so just, taking it day by day. But (you) never know.”
Smith-Schuster is a reliable veteran that can play multiple roles in the receivers room. The Chiefs needed reliable hands after last year’s issues with dropped passes.