Diontae Johnson Says JuJu Smith-Schuster Looks Ready to Play

The Pittsburgh Steelers receiver returned from IR this week.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers got a surprising return in wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, but his 21-day return window could be shorter than most. 

Smith-Schuster has been on Injured Reserve since Week 5 after undergoing shoulder surgery. He returned to the practice field on Thursday, but head coach Mike Tomlin said there are no expectations for his activation just yet. 

However, teammate Diontae Johnson said Smith-Schuster looks like he's ready to play again. 

"He looked smooth," Johnson said. "He's still got great hands, natural catcher. Big hands, strong guy. Just being able to run around and show that he's still JuJu. It's exciting."

"To me, he looked like he was ready," Johnson later said. "Obviously, he's got to work himself back into the game, but he was looking smooth today."

The Steelers have until 4 p.m. ET to activate Smith-Schuster for Sunday's Wildcard game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Tomorrow's practice could be a determining factor to whether or not Pittsburgh gets one of their best receiving options back. 

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