It's been three months since JuJu Smith-Schuster has been an available weapon for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He suffered a shoulder injury in the Steelers Week 5 win at Heinz Field against the Denver Broncos.
The Steelers have had mixed returns at the slot position since Smith-Schuster's injury. They turned to tight end Eric Ebron initially to help fill the void, but he would quickly be lost for the season with a knee injury. Ray-Ray McCloud stepped into the slot role and has spent much of the last three months in that position.
McCloud has been targeted 27 times in the last three games producing 12 receptions for 97 yards. Not exactly overwhelming numbers. To his credit, he did come through on 4th down conversion in overtime to help beat the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18.
[incontent2]
This week may possibly be the Steelers' last game of the season, and could be Smith-Schuster's last opportunity to play for the Steelers, too. The Steelers enter as 12.5-point underdogs against the Kansas City Chiefs. Having gone through this list of sites for NFL betting, the spread is the same across the board, but the moneyline varies slightly. This could change if Smith-Schuster is able to play on Sunday night.
Not only was it a surprise to Steeler Nation that Smith-Schuster hit the practice field this week, but it was a surprise to his teammates too.
"No, I had no clue about it," wide receiver Diontae Johnson said. "I was surprised to see him out there today, too. I saw him in the locker room and I was like, ‘Yo, you getting ready for something?’ He was putting on his cleats. If he gets a chance to play, I’m going to be excited for him to see him do what he does, which is make plays. I’m sure everybody missed him doing his dances and stuff out there. It was good seeing him out there moving around again."
Johnson went on to say that Smith-Schuster looked 'ready to go'. Despite all of this news, it still looks like a long shot according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
JuJu Smith-Schuster @TeamJuJu is healthy enough to play and Steelers are hoping he can play, but they are not planning on it right now, per sources.
— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) January 14, 2022
Time will tell, but the addition of JuJu would be a good one. Even if it's only for a few plays.
#SteelerNation
