I was in the stands at Heinz Field on a warm, October day when JuJu Smith-Schuster took a handoff from Ben Roethlisberger. He was actually running in our direction as he turned the corner and lowered his shoulder for the collision with Denver’s Kareem Jackson. It was clear that something wasn’t right with Smith-Schuster as he lay mostly motionless on the grass. The group I was with immediately realized that if this was as bad as it looked then we may have just witnessed the end of JuJu’s career in Pittsburgh.
Some 13 weeks later, the idea that number 19 would suit up again in the Black and Gold seemed a dream at best.