5 Patriots Offseason Moves That Are Already Flops at Midway Point of Season

2. Signing WR JuJu Smith-Schuster

The New England Patriots signed wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster to a three-year contract worth $25.5 million in total money and $16 million in guarantees. All things considered, this is not an overly "expensive" contract for a wide receiver, but the Patriots took an ill-advised shot on Smith-Schuster, who was let go by the wide receiver-needy Kansas City Chiefs.

There's a big difference between the Chiefs trading away Tyreek Hill for a king's ransom and just letting Smith-Schuster walk when he could have been had for a relatively low price.

The Patriots needed to do something at receiver this offseason, however, and so they did. And bringing in Smith-Schuster has not exactly proven to be the best move they could have made. Smith-Schuster is 5th on the team in total targets. He's got just 140 receiving yards on 21 catches for an embarrassing average of 6.7 yards per reception.

I'm not sure if the Patriots felt like they would be able to recapture the momentum Smith-Schuster had when he was a member of the Steelers, or if they simply thought he would be a highly efficient secondary option at the position. Unfortunately, they allocated a decent amount of resources into this player and through the first significant chunk of the season, he's done next to nothing.

This has been a disappointing signing, to say the least.