Philadelphia Eagles: JuJu Smith-Schuster’s hair is an unfortunate coincidence
There is a small but incredibly vocal segment of the Philadelphia Eagles fanbase who wants the team to go all-in on acquiring a big-name wide receiver this summer to help with the development of Jalen Hurts.
In theory, the idea is as old as time.
The Arizona Cardinals did so when they traded for DeAndre Hopkins back on March 16th, as did the Buffalo Bills when they acquired Stefon Diggs on the very same day, and even still did the Cleveland Browns when they traded Jabril Peppers and a first for Odell Beckham Jr. back in 2019.
Heck, even the Eagles got in on the action when they signed Alshon Jeffery away from the Chicago Bears back in 2017 to help supercharge Carson Wentz’s second season with a big-bodied receiver perfectly suited for his skills.
That, unfortunately, probably isn’t going to be how Howie Roseman opts to handle things when the Birds return to the field later this summer.
Now sure, technically the Eagles could sign literally any player in free agency who wants to join this sinking ship of a franchise – dubbed “The biggest rebuild in football” by NBC’S Chris Simms – but with one of the worst cap situations in the league, said player would have to agree to a contract that features a bare minimum figure in 2021 and a signing bonus that doesn’t start paying out until 2022.
Could there be some player who loves Hurts, has a personal relationship with Nick Sirianni, or has always wanted to be a member of the only team in the NFL that once wore Kelly Green? Sure, but does such a player exist at any position, let alone wide receiver and/or tight end?
Probably not.
But then again, when you see a video of JuJu Smith-Schuster taking “BIG body shots” from Ryan Garcia rocking a Jalen Mills-esque neon green(ish) dye job, one can’t help but imagine what could be if the Philadelphia Eagles actually ran a clean shop with enough cap space to take advantage of having a quarterback on a rookie contract.
The Philadelphia Eagles sure could use a player like JuJu Smith-Schuster.
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Coming out of college, no one really expected JuJu Smith-Schuster to become a superstar.
Now sure, the Long Beach native put on a show during his three-year tenure at USC, eclipsing 1,400 yards during his sophomore season paired up with future Eagle Cody Kessler, but the Trojans were on a bit of a bad streak in transitioning receivers to the NFL, with players like Nelson Agholor, Marques Goodwin, and even Robert Woods struggling to initially find their footing after being selected within the top-40.
Factor in a slight dip in production during his junior season and an underwhelming showing at the 2017 combine lowlighted by a 4.54 40 yard dash, and the jury was officially out on whether or not Smith-Schuster would ever become more than a high-volume possession receiver.
In a way, Smith-Schuster has lived up to that billing, only falling towards the top of the hypothetical bell curve.
Since making his debut in 2017, Smith-Schuster has racked up 3,726 yards, 26 touchdowns, and a number of endorsement deals, all the while becoming a household name for his goofy theatrics on social media.
Fun fact: JuJu’s dog Boujee also has an Instagram too and is a solid follow if you love dogs and/or already miss Cameron Johnston.
While Smith-Schuster isn’t what you would call a burner and played 80 percent of his snaps in 2020 deployed out of the slot, he remained a vital cog in the Steelers’ ever-potent offense regardless of whether he was catching passes from Ben Roethlisberger, Mason Rudolph, Joshua Dobbs, or Devlin Hodges.
Granted, Smith-Schusters’ production has dipped over the past few seasons, which may be why his contract extension talks with Pennsylvania’s other franchise reportedly aren’t going too well, but surely he wouldn’t leave a sure thing like the Steelers to duke it out on a bad team like the Eagles for very little money, even if he’d surely get targeted like 200 times in an offense without a proven first or even second wide receiver option.
Factor in not one single discernable preexisting relationship with Jalen Hurts or really anyone on Sirianni’s offense – not even on Instagram – and the idea that the Eagles would somehow be able to swing a deal to land a number one receiver like Smith-Schuster is nothing more than a fantasy, as unfortunate as that may be.
No, the closest thing the Philadelphia Eagles will likely get to acquiring Smith-Schuster in 2021 would be drafting his fellow hyphenated named Trojan Amon-Ra St. Brown, who is also a 6-foot-1 slot receiver who makes a living picking up yards after the catch. Throw that guy in the mix with players like Jalen Reagor, Greg Ward, and *maybe* Kyle Pitts, and you’ll have a nice little offense from which to build on moving forward.
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So, unfortunately, even if JuJu Smith-Schuster knows a thing or two about playing football in Pennsylvania, has a Jalen Mills-esque pension for dying his hair a unique color, and could very well hit the open market in his prime, he (probably) won’t be signing with the Philadelphia Eagles any time soon. To paraphrase Chris Simms, no high-profile free agent wants to join “The biggest rebuild in football,” especially when they can’t field a competitive offer due to Howie Roseman’s, um, “creative” cap wizardry.