{"id":41614,"date":"2025-03-16T01:40:41","date_gmt":"2025-03-16T01:40:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=41614"},"modified":"2025-03-16T01:40:41","modified_gmt":"2025-03-16T01:40:41","slug":"chiefs-re-sign-trusted-patrick-mahomes-target-despite-interest-from-other-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=41614","title":{"rendered":"Chiefs Re-Sign Trusted Patrick Mahomes Target Despite &#8216;Interest&#8217; From Other Teams"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Patrick-Mahomes37-e1742075457938.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Patrick-Mahomes37-e1742075457938.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Patrick-Mahomes37-e1742075457938.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Patrick-Mahomes37-e1742075457938.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Chiefs Re-Sign Trusted Patrick Mahomes Target Despite 'Interest' From Other Teams\" width=\"780\" height=\"425\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<p>The Kansas City Chiefs reunited with one of quarterback Patrick Mahomes&#8217; favorite wide receivers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>It appears veteran wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster learned his lesson, as he elected to re-sign with quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency this time around.<\/p>\n<p>FOX Sports NFL insider Jordan Schultz was the first to report the news on March 15, stating: \u201cBREAKING: The Chiefs are re-signing WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, multiple sources tell @NFLonFOX. A key weapon for Patrick Mahomes stays in Kansas City.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a follow-up post, Schultz also revealed that \u201cthe former Pro Bowler had interest elsewhere, but wanted to stay in KC.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With fellow veteran wide receivers DeAndre Hopkins and Justin Watson choosing to sign with new teams in NFL free agency, getting Smith-Schuster back is more important than it seems.<\/p>\n<p>Like Watson, Smith-Schuster serves as more than just a pass-catcher for KC. The savvy, physical wide receiver uses his 6-foot-1 frame to play a grittier role as a blocker in both the run game and creative WR screens.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s also a proven team leader, providing a wealth of knowledge and experience for younger playmakers like Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy, among others.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, perhaps the most important reason for KC to re-sign Smith-Schuster in 2025 is his uncanny chemistry with Mahomes. Certain wide receivers just seem to click with the Chiefs\u2019 superstar QB, and Smith-Schuster has been one of them \u2014 operating well underneath in space similar to Travis Kelce.<\/p>\n<p>And with Rice potentially missing time due to a possible suspension next year, Smith-Schuster\u2019s presence will be important as an integral backup who already has familiarity inside the KC system.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>JuJu Smith-Schuster Gets Do-Over of 2023 Free Agency, Choosing to Re-Up With Chiefs This Time<\/h2>\n<p>Just after Schultz broke the Smith-Schuster news, NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero reported that it will be a \u201cone-year deal\u201d for the veteran wide receiver. So, it\u2019s basically a short-term re-up for Smith-Schuster and Kansas City after the 28-year-old decided to return to his old team following his release last August.<\/p>\n<p>Although the reunion isn\u2019t surprising whatsoever, it is nice to see.<\/p>\n<p>Two years ago in 2023, Smith-Schuster signed a three-year, $25.5 million contract with the New England Patriots just after winning a Super Bowl with the Chiefs. It was the first true multi-year payday of the pass-catcher\u2019s career \u2014 although he only ended up earning a little over $16.64 million worth of that disastrous deal with New England according to Over the Cap.<\/p>\n<p>By comparison the Chiefs only paid Smith-Schuster $1.21 million in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Financials aside, faced with the same decision as two years ago \u2014 stay in KC, or sign elsewhere (likely for more money) \u2014 Smith-Schuster chose to rewrite history and return. And that\u2019s great news for the Chiefs as they attempt to win another championship in 2025.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes\u2019 Passer Rating Has Never Dropped Below 100.0 When Targeting WR JuJu Smith-Schuster<\/h2>\n<p>Although Smith-Schuster\u2019s overall production dipped in 2024, that was mostly due to a minimized role.<\/p>\n<p>Looking a little deeper at his statistics, however, two areas still stand out as major positives in Smith-Schuster\u2019s game. The first is his track record with Mahomes.<\/p>\n<p>We talked about it above, but Mahomes and Smith-Schuster have tangible proof of chemistry. Throughout the wideout\u2019s career, his quarterback\u2019s respective passer ratings have only finished above 100.0 when targeting him twice, in 2022 and 2024.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, when Smith-Schuster plays with Mahomes, his targets have never produced a passer rating under 100.0, at an accumulative 102.5 in 2022 and 106.4 in 2024 \u2014 which were both accomplished with Mahomes and the Chiefs.<\/p>\n<p>The second under-the-radar stat is Smith-Schuster\u2019s yards after catch.<\/p>\n<p>Despite only contributing 231 receiving yards last year, Smith-Schuster still managed 155 yards after catch. That means more than half of his production came after the ball was already in his hands, and that just so happens to fit the role that head coach Andy Reid needs Smith-Schuster to play.<\/p>\n<p>Michael Obermuller covers the NFL and NHL for Heavy.com, where he began writing in 2021. His areas of focus include the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins, as well as the New York Rangers and New York Islanders. An NYC area native and Quinnipiac graduate, his previous bylines include FanDuel&#8217;s The Duel, King Fantasy Sports and Pro Football Mania. More about Michael Obermuller<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Kansas City Chiefs are re-signing one of Patrick Mahomes&#8217; most trusted wide receivers in recent years as NFL free agency rolls on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":41615,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Chiefs Re-Sign Trusted Patrick Mahomes Target Despite &#039;Interest&#039; From Other Teams - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=41614\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chiefs Re-Sign Trusted Patrick Mahomes Target Despite &#039;Interest&#039; 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