Chiefs reach deal to reunite with Smith-Schuster

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs agreed to contract terms with JuJu Smith-Schuster on Monday.

Smith-Schuster, who was the leading wide receiver on the Chiefs’ 2022 Super Bowl championship team, was in uniform and practicing with Kansas City on Monday.

Smith-Schuster caught 78 passes for 933 yards in 2022, his only season with the Chiefs. He left after the season as a free agent for the New England Patriots, signing a three-year, $25 million contract with the team as one of the primary free agent targets of the former regime led by Bill Belichick.

He spent one season with the Patriots and caught 29 passes for 260 yards and one touchdown in 11 games. He was released by the Patriots this month after totaling 29 catches for 260 yards and one touchdown in 11 games in his only season for New England.

Smith-Schuster, 27, spent his first five NFL seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. His best season with the Steelers came in 2018, when he caught 111 passes for 1,426 yards. He also caught 97 passes in 2020.

At wide receiver this season, the Chiefs added veteran free agent Marquise Brown and drafted Xavier Worthy in the first round. Brown dislocated his shoulder in the preseason opener and his status for the Sept. 5 regular season opener against the Baltimore Ravens is in question.