The New York Giants parted ways with wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster on Tuesday to make room for recently signed running back Najee Harris.
Smith-Schuster's time in East Rutherford was limited -- 77 days to be exact. The Giants handed him a one-year deal following a workout that saw Braxton Berrios and Odell Beckham Jr. come away with contracts, instantly inflating New York's receiver room with veterans. We all knew at the time that not everyone was going to make the cut, as is the nature of a 53-man roster and a crowded receiver room.
Working against the 10-year vet was a lingering knee injury suffered early in training camp that caused some swelling, kept him sidelined at practice, and forced him to miss the preseason opener. With 12 other receivers fighting for the top-six or seven spots, it wasn't all that hard to connect the dots.
That means the 29-year-old is officially back on the market, along with his 481 receptions, 5,624 receiving yards, and 33 touchdowns. There will be teams still interested in his services and willing to see how his knee holds up, and these four could be on the shortlist to make a move sooner rather than later.
4 teams that should already be calling JuJu Smith-Schuster after Giants release
Buffalo Bills
If there is one team that should be blowing up JuJu's agent's phone right now to protect Josh Allen's Super Bowl window, it’s Brandon Beane and the Buffalo Bills. Yes, they swung a blockbuster trade earlier this offseason to land D.J. Moore from Chicago, but behind him, the receiver room is looking increasingly shaky.
Khalil Shakir is a good piece but probably belongs in the WR3 spot rather than at WR2. Compounding the issue, rookie Keon Coleman suffered a sprained foot/toe in the preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers, while the guys right behind them -- Mecole Hardman, Joshua Palmer, and rookie Skyler Bell -- are far from the kind of proven depth Smith-Schuster could provide.
Bell has flashed massive potential in training camp, but he is currently sidelined and being held back by a nagging camp injury of his own. Meanwhile, relying on journeymen like Hardman and Palmer to carry a heavy offensive workload is a massive gamble for a team trying to win a Super Bowl.
Houston Texans
Let's keep the gloom times rolling with the Houston Texans, whose wide receiver room just took a huge hit with second-year wideout Jayden Higgins injuring his ACL on Tuesday in Houston's joint practice with the Raiders.
The injury bug doesn't stop there. Tank Dell is still working his way back from a brutal knee injury (torn ACL, MCL, LCL, meniscus damage, and a dislocated kneecap) suffered in 2024 -- he missed all of last season. Fellow second-year wideout Jaylin Noel is also working through some hamstring issues, but he's expected to be ready for the season opener.
Much like the Bills, the Texans are in Super Bowl-or-bust territory after going 32-19 over the past three years with three divisional-round playoff losses. C.J. Stroud still hasn't proven to be the franchise QB they thought he'd be by now, so giving him an extra weapon who has a Super Bowl ring could be a savvy way to fill out the back end of the roster.
Kansas City Chiefs
JuJu Smith-Schuster and the Kansas City Chiefs are like that on-again, off-again couple that everyone knows will end up back together anyway. Having already completed three separate stints in KC, JuJu knows the Chiefs like the back of his hand.
While Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, and Tyquan Thornton will get most of the reps -- with rookie Cyrus Allen putting on a show at training camp -- there's value in rostering a guy who's older than 26 on a team that's seemingly, and confusingly, lacked weapons for the game's best QB. You'd think they'd try to surround Mahomes with all the talent they could find, but for some odd reason that's been easier said than done.
When he wants to, JSS is a good run blocker. He's not two seasons removed from posting an 89.4 run-blocking grade. And after investing considerable resources into reigning Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker, bringing in a guy who's a willing blocker would be icing on the cake.
Las Vegas Raiders
Now let's move on to the not-so-obvious team, which is the Las Vegas Raiders. In all fairness, any team without a set top-six could take a flyer on JSS, but the Silver and Black stick out a bit more than the rest because their passing attack is tight end Brock Bowers... and not much else (at the moment, wink, wink).
Right now, their top-three wideouts are Tre Tucker, Jalen Nailor, and sixth-round rookie Malik Benson. For reference, Tucker and Nailor have a combined 192 receptions, 2,632 yards, and 21 touchdowns in seven seasons. That's an average of 27 receptions, 376 yards, and 3 touchdowns per season.
The Raiders are going to need a helluva lot more than that once 2026 first-overall pick Fernando Mendoza takes over at QB.
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