Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - JuJu Smith-Schuster Joins New England Patriots, James Robinson Signs — SPECIAL EDITION

Episode Date: March 16, 2023

The New England Patriots made their long-awaited splash into the 2023 free agency pool by signing wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster to a three-year deal. Host Mike D’Abate provides his thoughts on the signing and why the Pats may have felt he was a better fit for the new-look Patriots offense under Bill O’Brien. Mike also give his take on the signing of running back James Robinson.Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-patriots-daily-podcast-on-the-new-england/id1140512627Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriotsAnd follow host Mike D’Abate on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans.On Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.Ultimate Football GMTo download the game just visit Ultimate-GM.com or look it up on the app stores. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON (ALL CAPS) in the game store.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG(CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat(CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful. Thank you once again for making Lockdown Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. And welcome to this bonus episode of the Lockdown Patriots podcast. Proud part of the Lockdown Podcast Networkots podcast, proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Subscribe or follow for free on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts to get the latest episode of Locked On Patriots

as soon as it's available. I'm your host, Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. So reach out to me and let me know what's on your mind on Twitter at MDABATENFL. And while you're out there showing some love to the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots.

Pats fans, your New England Patriots finally made their big splash into the free agency pool, and it was definitely worth a bonus episode of Locked on Patriots. And because of that, they're bringing a little flamboyance to Foxborough in 2023. Well, at least they're bringing it to their wide receiver room.

The New England Patriots inking former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster to a three-year deal. Six-year veteran is Juju spent five seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers and quickly became one of the team's most productive receivers. He signed a $10 million contract for one year last year with the Chiefs and he finished the year with 78 catches, 933 receiving yards, and three receiving touchdowns. In Kansas City's 38-35 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl, Smith-Schuster caught seven passes for 53 yards. So folks, this is definitely a

reason to get excited in New England. Is he going to be a wide receiver one? Probably not. We'll get into that in just a moment, but he will definitely bring a level of prowess to this team that we haven't seen in quite some time here on the field he should provide an instant upgrade for the Patriots core of wide receivers of course last year Jacoby Myers now headed to the Las Vegas Raiders led all receivers in yards with 804 six touchdowns he He was absolutely the team's top pass-catching option without any question, but he is now headed to Las Vegas to join Josh McDaniels, and Smith-Schuster appears excited to get to work in New England. Moments after his signing was reported with the Patriots,

had a message for Patriots Nation stating that he's grateful for the opportunity and can't wait to get to work, and you'd definitely love seeing that if you're a Patriots Nation stating that he's grateful for the opportunity and can't wait to get to work. And you definitely love seeing that if you're a Patriots fan. And the Patriots wide receiver core can definitely use him. There's no question about it. One of the more maligned positional groups on the team last season. The unit did perform well enough, though, I think, to provide a little help at the position. A little hope, I should say, at the position now that they're getting some help. And I think that can be a good thing at the position a little hope I should say at the position uh now

that they're getting some help and I think that can be a good thing for the New England Patriots Devontae Parker he'll definitely benefit from Juju Smith-Schuster being there 47 passes caught three of which went for touchdowns in 2022 his first year with the club rookie Taequann Thornton I think has the ability to be a vertical threat he should improve by having Juju on the team as well. And veteran Kendrick Bourne, I think, is really going to be the biggest contributor and also the biggest beneficiary of Smith-Schuster being on the team. Now you've got a slot option where you can basically do it all with Kendrick and a power slot option with Juju Smith-Schuster.

That and a Bill O'Brien-led offense is going to be a lot of fun for Mac Jones to be able to navigate. But folks, as we said before, it's definitely not over for the Patriots, but a lot of people are wondering why Juju Smith-Schuster and not Jacoby Myers. Well, here on this bonus episode of Locked On, I'm going to get into that in just a moment. There are reasons for it. There is a particularly good one. And folks, what it comes down to is always business. And I'll explain myself in just a minute when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. But first, today's episode is brought to you by our good friends

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Locked On Patriots, of course, is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And as we said to open this bonus episode, your New England Patriots made their long-awaited splash into the 2023 NFL free agency pool. They did so by signing wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster to a three-year deal. And this comes on the heels of former top wideout Jacoby Myers agreeing to terms with the Las Vegas Raiders on a three-year deal of his own. 33 million dollars Jacoby is going out west for and the Patriots inked Juju Smith-Schuster to a deal of eerily similar components. Take a look at these two deals side by side. Three years, 33 million in concept and it has a lot of people wondering why Jacoby, why not Jacoby and why Juju? Well

folks that's a question on everybody's mind. And simply put, it's a cold world in Foxborough. And apparently, Jacoby Myers learned that lesson the hard way, tweeting out the words cold world and LOL, of course, in response to the report of Juju's signing with New England. Now, we all have our own thoughts when the term cold world comes out. Instinctively, you can conjure up images, and you know a lot of people out there will conjure up images of Bill Belichick sporting a sinister grin as the terms of Smith-Schuster's contract reach the collective consciousness out there in the Twitterverse, in the social media world. Even as Myers sees them himself, almost like a ha-ha, we gotcha type thing. I'm here to tell you that the true meaning of the world cold world is definitely a lot less nefarious than some would have you believe. For starters, any suggestion

of the Patriots offer to Smith-Schuster being a shot at Myers. To me, folks, nothing more than an attempt to stir a stale narrative stew. New England's free agent modus operandi has typically been assigning a value, and in this case, it's a specific price, to a given commodity. Say for the most extreme circumstances, that value is going to remain steadfast. The Patriots are not going to deviate from it. They didn't in most cases, and they didn't in this case. Now, multiple reports have indicated that the Patriots did not exactly make a concerted effort to retain Jacoby Myers, but I can tell you that they did have interest in keeping him. In fact, their willingness to smine Juju to the same type of contract really hints at the financial terms that they were willing to go to for a sure-handed power slot receiver. It's also the reason why New

England chose Juju over Jacoby and let me explain what I mean by that. Myers eventually signed a three-year 33 million dollar contract with the Raiders that They included a $5.5 million signing bonus and $21 million guarantee. Now, even though the two deals were comparable, they weren't identical. As details started to come out on Juju's contract, you started to see the difference and you can definitely put two and two together as to why the Patriots made the decision that they made. 25.5 million is the base value of Juju's contract. 16 million in guarantees. So right there, there's a savings for the New England Patriots. Juju Smith-Schuster can earn up to 33 million in this new deal. He can do it with incentives and that's going to be the difference between the base value and the maximum value of the contract from $25.5 to $33 million. So simply put, the bonus and the

guaranteed money in Meyer's offer from Las Vegas was more than what the Patriots were offering. More importantly here folks, it was more than what they were willing to exceed or even match. So the question beckons after that, well, why? Why weren't the Patriots willing to match Jacoby Myers' offer with the Raiders and keep him in the fold? After all, Jacoby led all Patriots receivers with 804 yards, six touchdowns, really established himself as the Patriots' top pass-catching option. He was Mac Jones' favorite target. You want to keep your quarterback happy, you keep his best receiver in town. But when you look at the Patriots' pass-catching plans, especially the type of scheme that they're going to run under Bill O'Brien,

not really contingent to what Bill specializes in. And I don't think Jacoby was actually contingent to being a part of those plans. The Patriots did not base their 2023 offense on what Jacoby Myers was going to do. Bill O'Brien, after all, he specializes in coordinating an offense which features ball protection, efficient running, spreading the ball to a lot of different pass catchers.

That facilitates gaining notable yards after the catch. As much as I love Jacoby Myers, he's a solid receiver in so many facets of the game, he's not known for his yak prowess. It's not a big surprise that this is where Juju Smith-Schuster shines above the rest. He has the ability to routinely gain yards after the catch. As a matter of fact, NFL next-gen stats has him earning 141 yards above expectation, meaning 141 yak yards, Murph, the fifth highest number in the league last season. That's pretty impressive. If you want to take a look at a comparison to that, the entire Patriots receiving core combined gained just 33 yards after the catch in 2022

so a big upgrade for New England when it comes to getting yards after the catch Bill O'Brien is going to love scheming up plays for Juju because it's going to allow him to open up the field in ways the Patriots haven't been able to do in quite some time now Myers may have been the Patriots most reliable pass catcher since Tom Brady's departure but his logistical fit or maybe lack thereof within Bill O'Brien's offense likely led the team to different priorities this offseason that is really where it comes down to the Patriots willingness to invest money in a position that they know can fit their new scheme. Bottom line, at the end of the day, Juju Smith-Schuster is now a Patriot because of it. Jacoby Myers is now a Las Vegas Raider

because of it. And it may be a cold world. I understand where Jacoby's coming from there, but I do believe it was not personal. It was strictly business. Juju's arrival, folks, is not the only news the Patriots are making on Wednesday. They made a late night signing. That's right, folks. There's a new running back in town, and we're going to run down his resume when this bonus episode of the Lockdown Patriots podcast continues. Patriots fans, thank you once again for spending time with us here on Locked On Patriots making us your first listen today and this bonus episode Juju Smith-Schuster joining the New England

Patriots but not only Juju was the only addition I should say when it comes to the New England Patriots on Wednesday they also added some prowess to a position of strength and that's the running back position ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported on wednesday night that the patriots are signing free agent running back james robinson to a two-year deal with a maximum value of eight million dollars on the contract robinson is an interesting signing i really like the potential of this if they're getting rookie year James Robinson or even 2021 James Robinson. He began his career in 2020 as a rookie, signed as an undrafted free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and he had a stellar rookie season, becoming the fourth undrafted player in

NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in his rookie season. He actually rushed for 1079, very impressive there, along with earning the record for the most scrimmage yards of his rookie season. He actually rushed for 1079. Very impressive there, along with earning the record for the most scrimmage yards of any rookie free agent in NFL history with 1,414. Robinson's 2021 campaign came to a premature end in week 16. He suffered an ACL tear, and really some have made the argument that he hasn't been the same player since. Finished the season with 767 rushing yards, eight touchdowns through 14 games. In October of 2022, Jets had their own issues going on. They had Brees Hall, their rookie running back, go down with an injury, and all of a sudden now James Robinson comes in by a trade.

He goes to the Jets for a conditional sixth round pick, but he only saw action in four games. He logged 110 carries, 425 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns to go along with 11 catches and 51 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. It's going to be interesting to see what the Patriots are seeing here because the Jets obviously were not very high on James once he arrived into town. Maybe it was an ill fit. Maybe it was just a situation where Robert Sala was not able to scheme for him. We'll see what happens with the Patriots, but even though the Pats have several positional needs that they need to address, I think this is a solid move.

And it also seems to indicate that Damian Harris has played his final down in New England. I know there was some social media activity on Wednesday night that led people to believe that Damian is gone. I don't put too much stock into social media followings, comings, goings. I just don't think they're very reliable. I know some people do, and believe me, there may be some merit in it, but I think the more reliable source or the more reliable signal that Damian has done here in New England is James Robinson coming aboard. I don't think the Patriots make this move if they felt that they could bring

Damian Harris back. Now, Robinson, if he's healthy, should be a solid dual threat option. He can provide some good running, and he can also provide adequate catching out of the backfield. And there is a lot to like about this signing's potential, but we're going to continue to break it down even more here on Lockdown Patriots because we'll be talking about it on our Thursday episode as well as our Friday episode heading into the weekend. And we've got a couple of special guests

you're definitely not going to want to miss. We're just scratching the surface, Patriots fans, here on Free Agency. So please be sure to subscribe or follow for free on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcasts to get the latest episode as soon as it's available. And we are not done here on Locked on Patriots, folks. Once again, thank you for making us your first listen.

Now make your second listen, Locked on NFL Scouting, with the draft dudes. From free agency to the draft, salary cap management, and more, join NFL experts Kyle Krabs and Joe Marino as they take you through what it's like to build a successful NFL franchise every Monday through Friday. Find Locked On NFL Scouting with the Draft Dudes wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube.

Part of a Locked On podcast network, your team every day. And once again, I am Mike DeBate. Thank you folks for spending time today with Locked On Patriots. Continue to stay safe, stay well, be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day everyone and we'll see you on the next one here on Locked On Patriots.