Juju Sideshow-Schuster Unable to Contain Contempt, Insults Team With Nothing To Lose

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster decided a team gutted by issues with COVID-19 needed additional motivation, so he provided some insulting the Cleveland Browns ahead of their playoff game.

There will never be a better time to insult an opponent ahead of a game than when they are missing half a dozen players, several coaches and have been unable to practice all week due to an ongoing pandemic, so Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster did not want to miss his opportunity.

“I think they’re still the same Browns teams I play every year,” the Steelers receiver said Wednesday. I think they’re nameless gray faces. They have a couple good players on their team, but at the end of the day, I don’t know. The Browns is the Browns.”

Perhaps merely a coincidence, but it's at least noteworthy that Smith-Schuster is saying this when the Browns will be without safety Ronnie Harrison and could be without both Denzel Ward and Kevin Johnson at corner.

It's the playoffs, so the Cleveland Browns shouldn't need any added motivation to play their best effort, but the situation is unique. While head coach Kevin Stefanski, himself out of the game with COVID-19, has been unwavering in his message to the team about the focus and their goals, it wouldn't be a surprise if individual players had moments of weakness where they think the situation is unfair or perhaps unwinnable.

Spite can be a powerful tool and it's possible the quote could give some of these players the necessary motivation to do everything they can to prove a point, regardless of the outcome.

For Smith-Schuster, a pending free agent, this is a lose-lose situation. If the Steelers win, they defeated a compromised Browns team as expected. He looks like a dismissive bully. If the Steelers lose to a team missing this many players and coaches, it will be humiliating for the Steelers and almost all of it will land directly on Smith Schuster.

Already dubious that he will be back with the Steelers next season, Smith-Schuster almost seems intent on making it easy for fans to move on from him. He has already earned scorn and criticism for dancing on opponents logos, particularly the logo of the Cincinnati Bengals, who defeated the Steelers with Ryan Finley at quarterback.

There's a case to be made that it's in harmless fun from his point of view, but the Bengals certainly didn't take it that way as Vonn Bell did not turn down the opportunity to deck Smith-Schuster during the game. The comments Smith-Schuster were more dismissive than they were inflaming, but it's unlikely the Browns see it that way.

Sunday, the Browns will have their chance to respond.