JuJu Smith-Schuster injury: Is Steelers WR out for the 2021 season?

JuJu Smith-Schuster and the Pittsburgh Steelers seemed to be getting into a groove on offense Sunday against the Denver Broncos. The ground game was finally producing results and rookie wide receiver Najee Harris had his first 100-yard rushing game.

The Steelers picked up just their second win of the season with a 27-19 victory over the Denver Broncos. Unfortunately, the injury bug continues to get to the Steelers every week.

This time it was Smith-Schuster who had to have surgery last night on his shoulder after suffering the injury on just his second catch of the day.

WR JuJu Smith-Schuster out for the remainder of the season

JuJu Smith-Schuster had two carries on Sunday afternoon, and on the second carry suffered a shoulder injury that left the Steelers without one of their top receivers for the remainder of the game.

The Steelers announced after the game that Smith-Schuster was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.

The Steelers announced on Monday that JuJu Smith-Schuster had to undergo shoulder surgery last night to immediately repair the injury and is officially out for the remainder of the season. The surgery was successful and the recovery timetable was not announced.

The exact details of what the injury to the shoulder is were not released but seem to be serious enough that Smith-Schuster immediately underwent surgery.

So far this season, JuJu Smith-Schuster has 15 receptions for 129 receiving yards. His numbers aren't as high as previous seasons, due mostly to the fact that the Steelers offense hasn't been as productive in recent weeks.

With Smith-Schuster out for the rest of the season, it puts into question where he will play in 2022? JuJu Smith-Schuster was a free agent after the 2020 NFL season and signed a one-year deal worth $8 million to return to the Pittsburgh Steelers, foregoing other longer and more lucrative deals with other teams, including the Baltimore Ravens, to return to the only team he has ever played for.

Whether the Steelers would re-sign Smith-Schuster again, possibly to a longer deal, would be the question. The team would have more in the salary cap space to work out a deal with the wide receiver.

The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted JuJu Smith-Schuster in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft out of USC. In his career, he has played 63 games with 323 receptions and 3,855 receiving yards and 27 touchdowns.