PITTSBURGH — After two days of practice, the Steelers are bringing back JuJu Smith-Schuster to the active roster, almost exactly three months from what he thought was a season-ending shoulder injury. The team announced the move Saturday afternoon, shortly after Smith-Schuster tweeted that he gets “another chance to take the field with this team.”
Smith-Schuster had been on injured reserve since the week following a win against the Denver Broncos on Oct. 10. But the Steelers opened his 21-day practice window Thursday, and Smith-Schuster’s recovery from surgery has gone so well that he’ll be able to play Sunday night in Kansas City, possibly for the final time with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Before the injury, which happened early in that Week 5 game, Smith-Schuster had just 15 receptions for 129 yards and no touchdowns. Ray-Ray McCloud took his place as the slot receiver and has 39 catches for 277 yards, none bigger than his fourth-down snag last week in Baltimore to help save the season — and, in that sense, give Smith-Schuster a chance to return.
This could also be the final game as a Steeler for Smith-Schuster, who will be a free agent in March. He returned this season somewhat unexpectedly on a one-year, $8 million deal.
To make room for Smith-Schuster, the Steelers released punter Corliss Waitman, who filled in for two games while Pressley Harvin was out for personal reasons after the death of his father. That means Harvin will punt against the Chiefs, despite a strong cameo by Waitman, who spent 2020 training camp with the Steelers. In a small sample size, Waitman averaged a whopping 52.1 yards per punt, which would lead the league if he had enough attempts to qualify. Two of his seven punts came Week 16 in Kansas City, including a 63-yarder.
Harvin, a seventh-round pick, is averaging 42.6 yards per punt in his rookie season, second-to-last in the NFL. He returned last week against Baltimore and averaged just 37.3 yards over his eight punts.
