Will Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster be on the move to a new team five weeks from today when the 2021 NFL league year gets underway? Time will certainly tell. In the meantime, however, a Wednesday report from NFL insider John Clayton via an interview on 93.7 The Fan states that the Las Vegas Raiders might have some sort of interest in signing Smith-Schuster as an unrestricted free agent, should he not re-sign with the Steelers before March 17.
There’s not much to pass along on what Clayton said about the Raiders and their reported level of interest in Smith-Schuster so we’ll all have to wait and get the quote, which I will add as soon as possible. Personally, I don’t know how the Raiders could express any interest in Smith-Schuster this early in the offseason without it being regarded as tampering.
Here is what Clayton said about Smith-Schuster when asked to comment on his perceived market value right now.
“That’ll be maybe 14 [million] for JuJu because you know that the Raiders and several other teams are going to be moving on him,” Clayton said. “So, that’s gonna make it tough.”
Clayton was then asked to clarify if indeed the Raiders like Smith-Schuster as a potential free agent add this offseason.
“Yeah, from what I hear,” Clayton said. “Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean a lot of the people. I mean, Juju’s one of the better free agent wide receivers. Alan Robinson is the favorite, but I think somewhere in that top three or four, you’ve got JuJu.”
Smith-Schuster is expected to draw interest from several teams in March should he become an unrestricted free agent. His market value right now figures to be around $17 million per season.
The Raiders currently have wide receivers Tyrell Williams, Hunter Renfroe, Henry Ruggs, Bryan Edwards, Marcell Ateman, Keelan Doss, and Trey Quinn under contract for the 2021 season.
