After many not-so-subtle digs directed at each other all offseason, JuJu Smith-Schuster is disappointed with how things ended with former Steelers teammate Antonio Brown.
“The man’s a role model,” Smith-Schuster told reporters Wednesday. “In that situation, I didn’t want it to end like that. I have no hard feelings against him. Obviously if we’re ever in the same room, I’m going to say ‘What’s up’ to him. I think hatred is a huge word to use against somebody. At the end of the day, he’s a great player, he comes out every day with work ethic. He worked hard. Other than that I don’t have anything toward him like that.”
Smith-Schuster now enters minicamp atop the Steelers’ depth chart at wide receiver, after Brown demanded a trade while leaving the team during Pittsburgh’s crucial Week 17 game with the Bengals. The All-Pro receiver was then traded to the Raiders in March and wasted little time before directing a Twitter jab Smith-Schuster’s way.
“Emotion: boy fumbled the whole post season in the biggest game of [the] year! Everyone went blind to busy making guys famous not enough reality these days! By the way check the list,” Brown tweeted.
The criticism was in response to a tweet of Smith-Schuster winning Pittsburgh’s Most Valuable Player award and referred to Smith-Schuster’s late-game fumble in the Steelers’ Week 16 loss to the Saints, significantly dampening their playoff chances.
Smith-Schuster quickly responded, confused as to where the comments came from.
“All I ever did was show that man love and respect from the moment I got to the league,” Smith-Schuster tweeted. “I was genuinely happy for him too when he got traded to Oakland w/a big contract, and now he takes shot at me on social media?
“Crazy how big that ego got to be to take shots at people who show you love! Smh.”
Brown’s absence from the team and subsequent trade demand came the same week Smith-Schuster won the MVP award after posting 111 receptions, 1,426 yards and seven touchdowns and quickly garnered much of the attention around the team despite their late-season playoff push.Now the No. 1 receiver in Pittsburgh, Smith-Schuster hopes to go in a different direction.
“I never want to be the center of attention for causing problems,” Smith-Schuster said. “I just try to stay positive as much as possible. When the stuff like that goes sideways, I say what I say and then I back out and leave it at that.”
Smith-Schuster will be able to watch his former teammate up close, as this season’s “Hard Knocks” HBO series will document the Raiders during training camp.
“I’ll be super excited to see what he does and what the team does,” Smith-Schuster said. “’Hard Knocks’ will be interesting to watch.”