Report: Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster Told Teammates He’s Likely to Sign Elsewhere

Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster has told teammates that he is likely to sign elsewhere when he becomes a free agent this week, according to a report by Mike Garafalo of NFL Network.

Smith-Schuster is set to be a free agent for the first time in his career and is one of the top wide receiver options likely to come available on the open market later this week.

Both the Steelers and Smith-Schuster have publicly stated that they’d like him to return, but the Steelers’ lack of salary cap space likely precludes the team from being able to sign Smith-Schuster to anything approaching a market-value contract.

Smith-Schuster posted on Twitter on Sunday that Pittsburgh will always be a part of him, regardless of where he signs this week, a post that many interpreted to be a goodbye to the city and team that drafted him out of USC back in 2017.

The contact period for NFL teams to begin discussions with pending free agents begins on Monday at noon and teams can start signing players to contracts on Wednesday at 4 p.m.