JuJu Smith-Schuster had himself a game against the Giants on Monday. He caught 6 for 6 passes for 69 yards and 2 Touchdowns. Smith-Schuster is happy his QB1 is back. He realizes he has to show up this season and play big for that Quarterback.
"For myself, having the first two years I had good seasons, being able to play with Ben," said Smith-Schuster, who was held out of practice on Wednesday with a knee injury. "Coming into this season I had a chip on my shoulder saying that I have to come out here and prove myself. It was great to have everybody out there, everybody is able to play ball again."
This could be JuJu's last year with the Steelers, but he is still showing up to play football and play with a purpose. Ben Roethlisberger praised JuJu on Wednesday for jumping in and recovering the fumbled football by Benny Snell against the Giants.
"To me, that just shows what kind of a team guy he is."
JuJu was asked what he thought about Ben Roethlisberger's comments calling him a team guy.
"It means a lot coming from a guy like Roethlisberger, who's a great dude," Smith-Schuster said. "When I see something like that, I never second-guess or even think about not jumping in there and getting the ball. I want to win any possible way. Contract year, not contract year, I want my team to win. We all want to win a world championship and that's my end goal."
Smith-Schuster brought up Ben Roethlisberger being the oldest of the group in the locker room and said they keep him young by doing social media and the whole sha bam of how we get down.
"We keep him young with TikTok, social media, YouTube. Pretty much give him the whole sha bam of how we get down," Smith-Schuster said. "But we also play up to his standards. Doing our job too."
JuJu says he hopes to have a long relationship with Ben Roethlisberger and that Ben has accomplished everything that he has dreamed of.
"I want to have a long relationship with Ben," Smith-Schuster said. "Ben's been playing this game for so long. He's accomplished everything that I've dreamed of. And I don't know how long I have with him, but I'll make every game, every day, special with him."
Smith-Schuster says he even wants to do a Touchdown Celebration with Ben.
"One celebration I want to do with him is called the Trust Fall," he said. "It's very simple, but it's something that's saying QB1 can trust his wideouts. One day when we're up by 50 we'll be able to do one."
Hopefully, JuJu gets his wish and has a long relationship with Ben Roethlisberger on and off the football field. He has been criticized for not being a No. 1 Wide-Receiver, but on Monday Night Football he looked certainly that way catching all 6 of his passes and getting 2 Touchdowns. We hope JuJu and the Steelers can get a deal done and he stays in Pittsburgh, but the cap doesn't look promising to retain him. JuJu should take a hometown discount and stay with the team that drafted him. It would definitely please Steeler Nation.