First Call: JuJu Smith-Schuster explains when mutual interest with Bill Belichick began; an ex-Steeler OT not retiring yet
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It’s an all-Steelers Friday “First Call” to wrap up the week. We start by getting new Patriots receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster’s take on when he thinks Bill Belichick started to notice him as a player.
A former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman wants to make a comeback. We also see some unfortunate writing on the wall for those who wanted to see Mason Rudolph reamain with the team.
And one of Joey Porter Jr.’s college teammates thinks his second-round path to the Steelers will end up just fine.
How it happened
Former Steeler JuJu Smith-Schuster made it clear how … and why … he became a New England Patriot. The wide receiver signed in Foxborough this offseason after five years in Pittsburgh and one season in Kansas City.
Via NESN.com, Smith-Schuster says he believes mutual interest started between himself and coach Bill Belichick in 2018. That’s when the Patriots double-teamed Smith-Schuster throughout a 17-10 Steelers win.
He ended up with only three catches for 40 yards during a season that saw him post 111 catches for 1,426 yards and seven TDs.
“When I was in Pittsburgh for five years, we crossed paths multiple times,” Smith-Schuster said of Belichick on Tuesday. “I respect his game. One thing I’ve learned playing against Bill, is that if he ever double-teams you, obviously you’re a key player in his eyes. So, I think back then when he was doing that, I saw it as, ‘OK he respects my game. He respects me.’ … Being able to circle back around in Year 7, to be here, kinda shows that he still has that for me.”
In 2017, JuJu had six catches for 114 yards against Belichick’s defense during the infamous “Jesse James Game” that the Steelers lost late on a controversial call.
Because of that outing, Smith-Schuster feels that he put himself on Belichick’s radar.
Parsons pumps up lil’ Peezy
During the latest episode of ESPN’s “Hey Rookie, Welcome to the NFL,” Joey Porter Jr. was seen very emotional after being snubbed in the first round of the draft.
Upon viewing that clip, Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons sent out a tweet expressing his support for his former Penn State teammate. Parsons was apparently trying to convince Porter Jr. that once you get to the back half of the first round, it may be better to be a second-rounder because you can get to free agency faster.
Man tbh if you outside top 15 second round might be better !! You get to re up that bag way quicker!! But I think Joey will be great no matter where he was selected! You can’t teach dog and he has that in him!! https://t.co/Pykzd9uM03
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) May 3, 2023
For his part, Parsons went to Dallas as the 12th pick in Round 1 of the 2021 draft.
Players drafted after the first round can become free agents following their fourth years. First-rounders can be hit with a fifth-year option. But that’s often a pretty big number. Look at Devin White from the 2019 draft class. He is set to play on his fifth-year option (if he decides to play on it). That’ll be an $11.7 million price tag.
So it’s not all bad.
I suggested that the second-round result for Porter Jr. in Pittsburgh was a blessing in disguise too. But I don’t feel that way from a potential free-agency standpoint as much as Parsons does. I get his point. I’m just looking at it more from the angle of Porter not having to be under so much scrutiny playing in his hometown as a legacy pick in his father’s shadow.
I think the team’s decision to draft Broderick Jones offsets that issue a great deal.
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No more Mason
When Ike Taylor announced that Joey Porter Jr. was going to wear his old No. 24 with the Steelers, it was perhaps a final indication that the franchise had no interest in bringing back running back Benny Snell. After all, Snell wore that number throughout his four years in Pittsburgh.
Similarly it appears the last bit of dirt has been thrown on any potential plans for a reunion with former QB Mason Rudolph then as well, because (via Steelers Now.com) recently signed free-agent rookie QB Tanner Morgan is getting jersey No. 2. That’s Rudolph’s former number.
In February, I had been told by a source that Rudolph “wouldn’t close the door” on going back to the Steelers if they decided to trade Mitch Trubisky and had two spots open behind Kenny Pickett.
Well, that didn’t happen, and by signing Morgan — and then giving him Rudolph’s number — maybe the Steelers decided to close the door themselves on any such discussion about Rudolph potentially returning as a third QB.
Banner comeback?
Zach Banner hasn’t played since the end of the 2021 season. But he has not retired. The former Steelers offensive tackle insists he is not done with football.
He sent out a tweet Thursday alerting his followers he’d like to keep playing.
I also have been missing for a while, and I want everyone to know I’ve just been working out and training my knee.
I have not retired… Im simply just a bigger man who has needed more time to get past a devastating injury…
That is all, carry on…
— Zach Banner (@ZBNFL) May 4, 2023
Banner was released by the Steelers in March 2022. The USC product started his career in Indianapolis as a 2017 fourth-round draft choice of the Colts, but he was waived after training camp and picked up by the Cleveland Browns.
The Steelers eventually signed him in August 2018. He saw the most action of his career in 2019 when he played in 14 games.