3 Most Disappointing Patriots Through the First Month of the Season
By Tyler Maher
2. JuJu Smith-Schuster
Sometimes you regret a contract as soon as the ink dries, and JuJu Smith-Schuster's contract is one of them.
After signing a three-year, $25 million ($16 million guaranteed) contract in the offseason, Smith-Schuster has done virtually nothing for New England. He was expected to be the team's No. 1 receiver coming out of camp, but instead he's a total afterthought in the passing game.
The fact that he wasn't on the field for the team's two-minute drill in Week 1 spoke volumes about his role, and it hasn't improved since then. Despite playing in every game, he's only started two of them and has just 11 catches on 21 targets for 80 yards and no touchdowns.
For a former Pro Bowler, Smith-Schuster's numbers are pathetic. He's averaging career lows in numerous categories, including yards per game (20), yards per catch (7.3), yards per target (3.8), catch rate (52.4%) and more.
This contract is off to an absolutely disastrous start for New England, and Belichick already seems to be regretting it. He's been prone to setting money on fire in free agency in recent years (Jonnu Smith, Nelson Agholor, etc.), and this is just the latest example of it. That money would've been much better spent retaining Jakobi Meyers or signing DeAndre Hopkins, but it's far too late for that now.