After DeVante Parker release, will JuJu Smith-Schuster be next to go?

The Patriots are already expected to release DeVante Parker. Could JuJu Smith-Schuster be the next to go?

The New England Patriots could be looking to get rid of both of their veteran wide receivers, DeVante Parker and JuJu Smith-Schuster, per the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed and Andrew Callahan.

They have already reportedly informed Parker that they intend to release him on Wednesday. That leaves Smith-Schuster as potentially the next option to be shown the exit door in New England.

Parker was acquired by New England in April 2022. He signed a three-year contract extension last June. He has recorded 64 catches for 933 yards and three touchdowns in his two seasons with the Patriots.

Smith-Schuster was thought to be a Jakobi Meyers replacement when the Patriots signed him to a three-year, $33 million contract in March 2023. Injuries and on-field inconsistencies plagued Smith-Schuster last season. He finished the year with 29 catches for 260 yards and one touchdown in 11 games. He made seven starts with the team.

Via NESN’s Adam London, the Boston Herald wrote:

The Patriots could sign multiple veterans, knowing they’re likely to follow a rookie quarterback into next season. The front office is also reportedly looking to offload veterans DeVante Parker and JuJu Smith-Schuster.

New England is undoubtedly focused on revamping its offense. It will be interesting to see what becomes of Smith-Schuster. If they couldn’t move Parker in a trade, they’ll likely have a hard time doing so with Smith-Schuster as well.

One year ago: Reliving JuJu Smith-Schuster’s Super Bowl LVII win with the Chiefs

JuJu Smith-Schuster had a night he will never forget at #SuperBowlLVII. Relive his game of glory and the reactions which poured in.

Former USC Trojans star JuJu Smith-Schuster has had a roller-coaster NFL career. However, none of it mattered after the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl one year ago.

Smith-Schuster caught seven passes in Super Bowl LVII. He was held by Philadelphia Eagle defensive back James Bradberry on a third-down pass inside the final two minutes. The holding penalty enabled the Chiefs to drain the Eagles’ timeouts and run the clock down to 11 seconds before kicking the winning field goal with eight seconds left. Smith-Schuster played a key role in helping his team win the Super Bowl. It’s the latest Lombardi Trophy for a Trojan football product.

There was a lot of news attached to Smith-Schuster’s Super Bowl victory. The fact that he was the focal point of the game’s most important and controversial play made him even more central to the postgame conversation. Regardless of what you think about that penalty call, this much is true: Another USC player is a Super Bowl champion.

Patriots’ 7 most disappointing players in 2023

Here are the Patriots’ seven most disappointing players in 2023.

There is enough blame to go around for the New England Patriots’ failures in 2023. So it wouldn’t be fair to point the finger at one or two people for the team’s worst season in the Bill Belichick era.

With that said, there were multiple players that failed to live up to expectations in a year when the team desperately needed a turnaround to rid themselves of the stench from the 2022 season.

Unfortunately, things didn’t get better for the Patriots. They got much worse, despite clear efforts to turn things around.

The team sunk to 4-13 on the year and finished dead last in the AFC East division. Belichick’s 24-year run as head coach came to an end, and the team is now on the journey to rebuild with a new regime in place.

Here are the seven most disappointing players for the Patriots in 2023:

Patriots make multiple late moves before Bills game

The Patriots made a slew of moves on Saturday, including putting wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster on injured reserve.

The New England Patriots made a slew of moves on Saturday, including putting veteran wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster on injured reserve.

It’s a tough end to an overall disappointing season for Smith-Schuster, who was initially brought in to be the replacement for Jakobi Meyers. Smith-Schuster had his best showing in his last outing as a Patriot, hauling in four passes for 90 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But he finished the season with only 29 total receptions for 260 yards and one touchdown. It was the worst season of Smith-Schuster’s NFL career, and it paled in comparison to what Meyers was able to do in his first season with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Along with putting Smith-Schuster on IR, the Patriots also announced they had signed safety Joshuah Bledsoe to the 53-man roster, along with elevating tight end Matt Sokol and offensive lineman Andrew Stueber ahead of Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills.

Injuries have clearly taken a toll on the Patriots’ roster. Now, they’re being forced to look even further down the depth chart to make up for it on the road against one of the NFL’s hottest teams.

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Twitter reacts to Steve Smith forgetting which Patriots receivers were playing

Steve Smith thinks JuJu Smith-Schuster and Kendrick Bourne need to show up, but neither are playing for the Patriots.

The New England Patriots have a revolving door of receivers, and at this point, it’s getting harder and harder to keep up with who’s on the field and who’s not.

Just ask NFL Network’s Steve Smith, who completely forgot JuJu Smith-Schuster and Kendrick Bourne were not playing in Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos.

During the pregame segment, Smith mentioned both as players he needed to see show up for the Patriots in the game, but Bourne has been on injured reserve since the team’s Week 8 loss to the Miami Dolphins, when he tore his ACL.

And Smith-Schuster has been out for back-to-back weeks with an ankle injury. The Patriots are down to DeVante Parker, Demario Douglas, Jalen Reagor and Tyquan Thornton as their top receiving options at Mile High.

Here’s some of the best Twitter reactions to the segment:

Patriots WR JuJu Smith-Schuster headlines absences at Friday’s practice

Patriots WR JuJu Smith-Schuster was reportedly absent during the media portion of Friday’s practice.

The New England Patriots were missing four players at Friday’s practice, ahead of their contest against the Denver Broncos on Sunday. That list of names included wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, per NESN.com’s Zack Cox.

This news just adds to what has been a difficult season for the Patriots’ wide receiver room, when it comes to injuries. Smith-Schuster did not play in last week’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs. In turn, he was unable to build momentum from the previous game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he caught four passes for 90 yards.

Smith-Schuster has had an up-and-down season. All told, he has recorded 29 catches for 260 yards and a touchdown on the year. The lone touchdown came against the Miami Dolphins back in October.

Three other Patriots players were absent from the entirety of this week’s practices. Running back Rhamondre Stevenson, safety Jabrill Peppers (hamstring) and offensive tackle Conor McDermott (head) also did not practice on Friday.

The Patriots look to secure a win over the Broncos for the first time since 2017 on Christmas Eve. Kickoff is set for Sunday night at 8:15 p.m ET.

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Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo says he still roots for Patriots WR JuJu Smith-Schuster

Kansas City #Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo says he still roots for New England #Patriots wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.

The Kansas City Chiefs wide receivers have been the topic of discussion around the league for controversial reasons. This Sunday’s matchup against the New England Patriots brings another receiver they are familiar with to the forefront.

During Thursday’s press conference, Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo shared his respect for the one-time Chiefs wide receiver.

“I love JuJu (Smith-Schuster). He’s a he’s an elite competitor,” Spagnuolo told reporters. “L.J. (L’Jarius Sneed) and I were talking about that, and Trent (McDuffie), and he’s still playing good football. You know he’ll be hungry, right? It’s his former team.”

Smith-Schuster was vital to the Chiefs Super Bowl title run last season. He signed with the Patriots in the offseason, and through a tough year record-wise, he’s caught 29 passes for 260 yards. Spagnuolo described facing off against Smith-Schuster with the same mindset as two other former receivers this season.

“Yeah, Tyreek (Hill) was one. Yeah, Mecole (Hardman) was originally with the (New York) Jets,” said Spagnuolo. “Yeah. But I think I loved JuJu when he was here. I hope he doesn’t play real well this week. But I’m always rooting for him.”

The Patriots are in a rebuilding year as they rack up losses, but they were successful in last week’s matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Chiefs are looking to snap a two-game losing streak as they need wins in their final four games to help secure post-season positioning.

Patriots Twitter reacts to Jakobi Meyers’ ridiculous diving touchdown reception

Jakobi Meyers hauled in a ridiculous touchdown catch, and Patriots Twitter is losing its mind.

Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Jakobi Meyers continues to make the New England Patriots regret letting him walk in free agency.

On Thursday night, he hauled in a ridiculous diving touchdown reception on a 3rd-and-2 from Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell. The touchdown put the Raiders up 14-0 on the Chargers in a primetime game.

Meyers signed with New England as an undrafted rookie back in 2019. He worked his way up from a roster bubble player to the team’s No. 1 receiving target. There was obviously a lot of disappointment when the Patriots didn’t value him like the Raiders did at the negotiating table. They let one of their best homegrown talents slip away.

Patriots Twitter was once again riled up after the highlight reel touchdown considering coach Bill Belichick essentially signed JuJu Smith-Schuster for the same base deal the Raiders offered Meyers.

So far, the Raiders have been major winners over the Patriots in that decision. Here are some of the best reactions on social media:

3 standout stars for Patriots in Thursday Night Football victory over Steelers

Who were the Patriots’ three standout stars in Thursday’s win over the Steelers?

The New England Patriots took care of business against the Pittsburgh Steelers with a 21-18 victory. It was a game where the offense put up three first-half touchdowns and looked like the polar opposite of the one we have seen all season.

The Patriots put up more points in the first half than they did in the last three weeks combined. On the other end, the Steelers defense had no answers in the first half, and their offense looked par for the course for them.

The Patriots are sitting at 3-10 with the Kansas City Chiefs next on their schedule. They are still in position for a top draft pick, but they’re not entirely eliminated from playoff contention statistically.

Let’s get into this week’s three top stars from Thursday’s game.

The Morning After…Even at their lowest, Patriots still own Steelers

Bill Belichick is now 10-3 against Mike Tomlin in his career.

There’s nothing like a good, old-fashioned Bill Belichick and Mike Tomlin matchup to suddenly make everything okay again for the New England Patriots.

Who cares if this moment of bliss is fleeting? The Kansas City Chiefs are coming to Foxborough next week to more than likely stomp a mudhole in these Patriots, but thanks to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tomlin, the team can rest peacefully for the next nine days.

Belichick came into Thursday night’s game 9-3 all-time against Tomlin. That number seemed sure to go in the other direction given the walking offensive disaster the Patriots have been all season.

And then it was like magic in Pittsburgh. The offense surprisingly looked ready to compete, and some of the most unlikely Patriots players stepped up as heroes.

Let’s delve into some leftover notes from Thursday’s game: