Patriots get unexpected extra cap after former weapon signs elsewhere

The New England Patriots wide receiver room is very crowded with some tough competition.

And ahead of the second preseason game, the team made a surprising but necessary decision.

Despite the major hit in cap space, the Patriots released JuJu Smith-Schuster after a poor performance throughout training camp.

He's remained a free agent for the past few weeks, but on Monday, he is returning to a familiar place.

The Kansas City Chiefs signed Smith-Schuster, NFL Insider Jordan Schultz reports.

And the Chiefs are the real winners because they get another veteran receiver on the depth chart for a minimum contract. That's because Smith-Schuster is guaranteed seven million dollars from the Patriots.

However, New England does get 1.21M credited back due to offsets from what he is set to earn from the Chiefs.

Jerod Mayo explains the decision

"Yeah, it was a decision between Eliot (Wolf) and myself, really to give the younger guys an opportunity to go out there and get more reps and show what they can do," Mayo explained.

Smith-Schuster was not at 100% last season during his first season with the Patriots, dealing with a knee injury. So that was said to contribute to his lack of production. But when speaking with reporters this offseason, he said he was completely healthy and ready to go.

Because of that, Mayo was asked if his inability to truly bounce back from the injury factored into the decision.

"I mean, that’s part of it. At the same time, we just want him to get healthy," the head coach said. "He still has some good ball left in him and I wish him nothing but the best."

Last season, Smith-Schuster played in 11 games, totaling 29 catches for 260 yards and one touchdown.

Financial ramifications make JuJu Smith-Schuster's release from the Patriots surprising (via Wendell Ferreira)

The New England Patriots decided that JuJu Smith-Schuster's tenure is over and released the veteran wide receiver on Friday, ending what is certainly an underwhelming experience . More than the cut itself, the contract repercussions are what make this move so surprising.

Last offseason, JuJu signed a three-year, $25 million deal with the Patriots. It could go to $33 million via incentives. But the main point is that it had $16 million in guaranteed money — a $7.9 million signing bonus, plus the base salaries in 2023 ($1.1 million) and 2024 ($7 million).

It means that even cutting Smith-Schuster, the Patriots still owe him $7 million, and it will hit the salary cap this year anyway. The decision to release him only freed up $647k in cap space, which is his per-game roster bonus. New England will handle $10.28 million in dead money in 2024.

The Patriots will still have $2.633 million in dead money in 2025, the final proration of his signing bonus paid in 2023. The decision makes more financial sense thinking about next year, though, because it opens up $7.5 million in cap space.