Did the New England Patriots make a big mistake with JuJu Smith-Schuster?

Ahead of the 2024 NFL season, the New England Patriots have made the decision to release veteran wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. He quickly ended up with the Kansas City Chiefs, where he had played the season before and won a Super Bowl.

During the 2023 season with the Patriots, Smith-Schuster ended up catching 29 passes for 260 yards and one touchdown. He played a total of 11 games for New England.

While the move made sense given his poor performance last year, Smith-Schuster appears to be getting back on track this year.

Smith-Schuster didn't make much of an impact in the first four games of the season. However, his breakthrough came with a monster performance in Week 5 against the New Orleans Saints.

On Monday Night Football, Smith-Schuster caught seven balls for 130 yards. He stepped up in Rashee Rice's absence and showed the skills he's had throughout his career to be a legitimate No. 1 wide receiver.

This performance begs the question: Did the Patriots make a huge mistake in releasing the 27-year-old wideout?

While the Chiefs continue to have success at the wide receiver position, New England has struggled greatly at the position through the first five games of the season. The Patriots don't have anyone who even remotely appears to be a legitimate top option. Smith-Schuster could have been that guy for them.

Still, it's clear that Jacoby Brissett is also a big problem for New England. The difference between Brissett throwing the football and Patrick Mahomes at quarterback is enormous.

It's highly unlikely that Smith-Schuster would have had the same success in the Patriots' offense.

New England definitely would have projected Smith-Schuster as their top wide receiver. That alone makes the answer to the question tentatively yes at this point in the year.

Not only does Smith-Schuster show great potential with Kansas City, he is also only 27 years old. As already mentioned, he should still have a few good years ahead of him.

With Drake Maye set to become the team's starting quarterback in New England at some point in the near future, an experienced target like Smith-Schuster would have been valuable.

Hopefully the Patriots are able to resolve the wide receiver situation. They have been linked to Travis Hunter as a potential target in the 2025 NFL Draft. He would be a nice addition, but keeping Smith-Schuster on the roster and potentially keeping him for the future would have given New England a better outlook.

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