Why does it seem like everyone has soured on JuJu?

[Coryea]

Bouchette thinks JuJu won't be around after this season.

We had alot of patience and watch Dupree do next to nothing for 4 seasons, kept him for year 5, and franchised him, now alot of people want him signed long term.

JuJu who was the youngest WR ever to get to 2500 yards, his first two seasons were very good, then last year with no Ben, and a couple injuries to himself, and it seems alot are ready to run him out of town. Why?

 

[Drink IRON City]

I for one haven't soured on him. I thin k he will have a way better year this year just in the fact our new draftee will be a presence opposing "D's" will have to acknowledge. ALSO Deonte Johnson is a year richer in experience and has proven defenses need his accounting as well. JuJu had a lot more coverage shift his way than the two previous years but this upcoming season that will have to change or their D will get toasted.

As for contract, we have him next year due to 5th year option but will get a long term deal done. This in itself will add motivation BUT I don't think that was ever an issue with JuJu.


EDIT: JuJu was a 2nd rnd draft so option year isn't in play (per Paulie G & thanks for update)



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[FordFairLane]

I think we resign him and he has a bounce back year. I think Claypool is insurance for JuJu next year and Washington after 2021. I also believe there’s an outside chance the Steelers 3 year plan for Claypool is to convert to tight end.


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[Paul G]

Bouchette thinks JuJu won't be around after this season.

We had alot of patience and watch Dupree do next to nothing for 4 seasons, kept him for year 5, and franchised him, now alot of people want him signed long term.

JuJu who was the youngest WR ever to get to 2500 yards, his first two seasons were very good, then last year with no Ben, and a couple injuries to himself, and it seems alot are ready to run him out of town. Why?

Boo Boo just wasn't ready...... just kidding......... like you said he had a down year, injuries, no Ben.... should bounce back this year........ I don't think it is a matter of souring on JuJu as much as it is knowing that it is easier to replace a WR ....... than it is to replace .......TJ, Minkah, somewhat Bud and the contracts they will command..... only so much money to go around... cap will go up and we will lose some big contracts in 2years or so.......Pouncey, Ben ???.........If Ju Ju does well they will have some big decisions to make......

 

[Paul G]

I for one haven't soured on him. I thin k he will have a way better year this year just in the fact our new draftee will be a presence opposing "D's" will have to acknowledge. ALSO Deonte Johnson is a year richer in experience and has proven defenses need his accounting as well. JuJu had a lot more coverage shift his way than the two previous years but this upcoming season that will have to change or their D will get toasted.

As for contract, we have him next year due to 5th year option but will get a long term deal done. This in itself will add motivation BUT I don't think that was ever an issue with JuJu.




Salute the nation

Ju Ju was a 2nd round pick ........ no 5th year option available....... he will be playing on his 4th and final year of his rookie deal........decision time is close

Next year's WR draft has some good talent as well

 

[Roy92040]

I haven't soured on him. I think he's a force to be reckoned with. I'm not sure he got over his toe injury last year.

 

[SteelerFan448]

I don't think it's soured, I just think with the number of players they have to sign many think JuJu won't be one of them.

 

[Coryea]

I don't think it's soured, I just think with the number of players they have to sign many think JuJu won't be one of them.

I get that part of it, but reading twitter (yes I know it's twitter, lol) and listening to callers on the sports shows, it's alot of people thinking he's not that good anymore after one down year.

 

[steelhurt]

Nonsense, utter nonsense. JuJu is a excellent player who we should do what we can to re-sign him. Time to get rid of some of these old guys so we can keep the younger core players. And as much as I hate saying this, if Ben plays poorly this year and I’m not saying I think that he will, then it will be time to break that union as well. Pouncey, Vilenueva, Haden, all need to be looked at closely this season. The secret to success is knowing when to cut ties with the older players to keep your younger more upside players. Rudolph better be ready and if he’s not, we need Ben’s replacement in the first round of next years draft.


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[Superman]

if they're going to resign him, they'll do it now. if not, he's going to price himself out of our grasp. that said, even now he's likely outside our budget without some considerable work on the cap.

I said it before, but Juju is similar to Keenan Allen. Not quite elite, but a defense must know where he is on every play. Per sportrac.com

Keenan Allen signed a 4 year, $45,000,000 contract with the San Diego Chargers, including a $9,500,000 signing bonus, $20,656,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $11,250,000. In 2020, Allen will earn a base salary of $10,500,000 and a workout bonus of $250,000, while carrying a cap hit of $12,650,000 and a dead cap value of $1,900,000.

I'd consider that the bargaining average for what Juju gets despite any talent in next year's draft. Juju is still VERY young (he's only 23) and has many years ahead of him. Per drafting a WR in the first, you're likely only gaining two years and losing a lot of experience, even if the talent ceiling is similar.

 

[TDX27]

They are idiots. People (even on here) forget that not only was he trying to play a different WR position with 3 different QB's last year, he wasn't practicing much, if at all some weeks, as he was injured in camp and pretty much the entire year. Get him healthy and he will do better even without Ben but with Ben (as everyone one the team will do better), he will be back to 80 catches and 1,000 yards.

 

[slashsteel]

I haven't soured on him and fully expect him to bounce back. I can see he has been putting that extra time in in the off-season.

I am willing to be the ones that have soured on him are in a low percentage of fans....

 

[SteelerFan448]

I get that part of it, but reading twitter (yes I know it's twitter, lol) and listening to callers on the sports shows, it's alot of people thinking he's not that good anymore after one down year.

Mark Madden has a lot to do with it. He goes out of his way to personally attack JuJu. There is probably still a segment of AB supports that will blame JuJu to some extent. Then there's the crowd that won't like that he's always on social media and playing video games. Since he isn't football 100% of the time he isn't good anymore.

 

[Drink IRON City]

I haven't soured on him and fully expect him to bounce back. I can see he has been putting that extra time in in the off-season.

I am willing to be the ones that have soured on him are in a low percentage of fans....

Mark Madden has a lot to do with it. He goes out of his way to personally attack JuJu. There is probably still a segment of AB supports that will blame JuJu to some extent. Then there's the crowd that won't like that he's always on social media and playing video games. Since he isn't football 100% of the time he isn't good anymore.

The "talking heads" have a way of diverting the sheeples whom can't seem to think or use logic. That said when a STEELERS topic comes up the more negative or untrue, the more clicks they get of LOYAL FANS correcting their (talking heads) dumb ***** remarks.




Salute the nation

 

[stillerfaninfl]

I think a lot of fans would be pissed if they let JuJu walk. He's been the face of the franchise for 2 years. The commercials with him in his stillers uniform, the Halloween stuff he did around his neighborhood, stuff with bringin Heinz ketchup back to Kennywood ... all that. He has really become a part of the town. Besides all that, he had one bad season last year with some injuries and playing with 1 QB that was average and one below average. He has loads of talent and has not yet peaked ... will be a different story with him and Ben both healthy. Pouncey and Vilenueva however are on the downside of their careers. Replacements for them and Ben, VW and Cam need to be addressed next year.

 

[black and gold apex]

He did not improve, had injuries', no consistent QB. This year will tell a lot not only on JU JU but the team. Hard to compare anything with what the Steelers went through last year. I still believe we need a good receiver coach, routes are not crisp, hard time getting away from defensive backs especially inside the red zone.

 

[Hoot]

I get that part of it, but reading twitter (yes I know it's twitter, lol) and listening to callers on the sports shows, it's alot of people thinking he's not that good anymore after one down year.

a lot of people said juju was only good because of AB. doesn't matter if he was hurt last year and playing with an offense that was in the dumpster across the board....only that it fits the narrative. confirmation bias.

But, truth is, he does need to rebound this year or the team may well move on. Of course, if he has a great year, he will cost more than we can afford with the other deals we have pending...unless they can defer some player payouts till after Ben retires. Ben's cap number this year and next are brutal. After that next year we will have 40M undercap. Of course, we may not have a QB to throw the ball to JuJu at that time.

 

[Drink IRON City]

a lot of people said juju was only good because of AB. doesn't matter if he was hurt last year and playing with an offense that was in the dumpster across the board....only that it fits the narrative. confirmation bias.

But, truth is, he does need to rebound this year or the team may well move on. Of course, if he has a great year, he will cost more than we can afford with the other deals we have pending...unless they can defer some player payouts till after Ben retires. Ben's cap number this year and next are brutal. After that next year we will have 40M undercap. Of course, we may not have a QB to throw the ball to JuJu at that time.

EDIT: It's a good story but DUCK won't make the 53.


Either Mason red nose or Paxton will be throwing to him. I think we've seen Mason's worse season unless he is mentally held back due to that CHANDLER hit (which I think he is well over it). The outside domino is PAXTON, will he turn things on with CANADA AS OUR QB COACH.......... I'm hoping between one of them two a star is born.




Salute the nation

 

[DocScott]

2018 season, December game vs the Saints, Steelers win this one and playoffs look good. Final drive, Ben hits Juju with a slant and he's moving into field goal range....AND HE FUMBLED!!!! Fair or not, many fans and critics never forgave that play and labeled him expendable and not a rea #1 option receiver....

 

[tapeANaspirin2it]

Some may have soured on him but I think most just don;t think the steelers will hav the money to keep him. It's a catch 22. If JuJu has a great season then he will likely be too expensive to keep. If he has a disappointing season then the steelers still may let him leave and go with younger options.

A lot will have to do with the development of DJ, Washington and Claypool. Particularly DJ and Claypool. You need to have at least 1 great WR. I don;t think Washington will ever be great. He's pretty good and can be effective if he's the 2nd or 3rd option but he won't be a star. DJ has tons of potential to be a playmaker and a true #1. Claypool has the physical tools to be a very dangerous deep threat.

The only scenario I see where JuJu is resigned is if he has a great season and DJ and Claypool are only mediocre. That would mean the Steelers need him as their #1 and have no other option. Even then, they may not be able to keep him if some team tries to make him the top paid WR in the game.

I mentioned in another thread, I think the bottom will fall out of the WR market in a few years. Nearly every college teams now uses 3 and 4 WR and the draft is loaded at WR every year. That trend will not end anytime soon. There will be no need to overpay for veteran WRs when you can draft a quality WR pretty much every year.

 

[Hypocycloids]

He dropped a TD pass against the Jets and we lost.

 

[SteelerSask2]

I think he is a great player but may be a cap casualty. Too many players to pay. They have been good at replacing receivers. Not so much at other positions.

 

[BLITZ]

I think the talking heads are running out of things to talk about. JuJu is the closest thing to a fan favorite on offense.

 

[Coryea]

a lot of people said juju was only good because of AB. doesn't matter if he was hurt last year and playing with an offense that was in the dumpster across the board....only that it fits the narrative. confirmation bias.

But, truth is, he does need to rebound this year or the team may well move on. Of course, if he has a great year, he will cost more than we can afford with the other deals we have pending...unless they can defer some player payouts till after Ben retires. Ben's cap number this year and next are brutal. After that next year we will have 40M undercap. Of course, we may not have a QB to throw the ball to JuJu at that time.

Yes, that first part is a big part of it, alot of people say he can't play without AB

 

[Hines57]

Bouchette thinks JuJu won't be around after this season.

We had alot of patience and watch Dupree do next to nothing for 4 seasons, kept him for year 5, and franchised him, now alot of people want him signed long term.

JuJu who was the youngest WR ever to get to 2500 yards, his first two seasons were very good, then last year with no Ben, and a couple injuries to himself, and it seems alot are ready to run him out of town. Why?

Nice way to take a swipe at Dupree....