The Eagles made Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster a long-term multi-million free agency offer before the 2018 Pro Bowler elected to return to the Steelers on a one-year contract, according to an ESPN report.
Adam Schefter tweeted Friday afternoon that Smith-Schuster “turned down more money on a multi-year deal from the Eagles than he took to return to the Steelers,” quoting an unnamed source.
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He added that Smith-Schuster, who has spent his entire four-year career in Pittsburgh, “loved Pittsburgh and its fans too much to leave.”
Schefter also tweeted that the Ravens offered the 24-year-old Smith-Schuster more money than the Steelers.
Schefter then tweeted that it was Smith-Schuster’s agent who initiated conversations with the Eagles, writing, “The Eagles did not wind up courting him.”
NFL
Presumably, Schefter means that even though the Eagles did not reach out to Smith-Schuster’s camp, they did at some point make a concrete offer.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted that Smith-Schuster’s one-year deal is worth $8 million. He reported that the Chiefs also made a larger offer than the Steelers.
Terms of the Eagles’ reported offer are unknown. Although the Eagles don’t have a ton of cap space, they have enough to compete for a free agent like Smith-Schuster by structuring a long-term deal with a small first-year base salary.
With Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson both gone, the Eagles don’t have a wide receiver on the roster with more than 81 catches. Greg Ward (81), Travis Fulgham (38) and Jalen Reagor (310 are the only WRs on the roster with more than 15 career receptions.
Smith-Schuster, a teammate of Nelson Agholor at USC in 2014, had a huge year in 2018, with 111 catches for 1,426 yards and seven touchdowns. He dropped to 42-for-552 in 12 games in 2019 and caught 97 passes last year but for only 831 yards.
In four seasons, he has 308 catches for 3,726 yards and 26 TDs. He’s among the top 15 in the league in all three categories since the Steelers drafted him in the second round in 2017, 19 picks after the Eagles drafted Sidney Jones.
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