Steelers News: La'Mical Perine, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Kenny Pickett

It didn't take long for the Steelers news cycle to heat back up again. Following a dry spout after the 2024 NFL schedule release, there has been plenty going on with Pittsburgh as Organized Team Activities are underway.

The media has been busy posting video clips from Steelers OTAs to social media, and we have gained some interesting insight from media sessions with players. All the while, Pittsburgh made another roster addition as he put the finishing touches on his 90-man summer roster. Here's the latest Steelers news.

Steelers sign RB La'Mical Perine

The Steelers added another running back to their summer roster. Just days after being released by the Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh scooped up free agent RB La'Mical Perine.

The Florida product was a former fourth-round pick by the New York Jets in 2020. After falling out of favor with New York in 2021, Perine bounced around with the Eagles and Dolphins in 2022 before landing with the Chiefs. The journeyman RB is now a Pittsburgh Steeler.

Perine didn't log a snap during the 2022 regular season. Last year, he earned 22 carries for 77 yards with the Chiefs -- all but one of these carries came in the season finale against the Chargers in Week 18.

Perine joins a crowded backfield that already consists of Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren, and Cordarrelle Patterson. A path for the 53-man roster may not be attainable, barring an injury. His biggest competition will come against Jonathan Ward, Aaron Shampklin, and undrafted rookie Daijun Edwards.

JuJu Smith-Schuster 'no longer a fit' with Patriots

JuJu Smith-Schuster's time with the New England Patriots could be coming to an end. Patriots reporter Greg A. Bedard said on his podcast that he would be 'surprised' if JuJu remained with New England in 2024.

This comes roughly one month after the Patriots drafted a pair of receivers in the first four rounds: Ja'Lynn Polk (pick 37) and Javon Baker (pick 110). After a productive year with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022, Smith-Schuster was hardly relevant in New England last year -- catching just 29 passes on 47 targets in 11 games and recording one touchdown.

JuJu, a former Pro Bowl player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, could become a candidate to return to the team that drafted him in the second round back in 2017 if he gets released by the Patriots. He is still just 27 years old after seven seasons in the NFL.

Kenny Pickett's personal coach overhypes his client

In somewhat comical fashion, Kenny Pickett's personal coach Tony Racioppi is claiming that the Eagles' new quarterback looks 'sharper than Jalen Hurts' early at OTAs. While this may or may not be the case, it's not worth getting excited about.

In Year 2 with the Steelers in 2023, Pickett finished the preseason with a perfect passer rating before taking a step back in his second season. The former first-round pick has time to turn his career around, but the Eagles are paying $51 million per season, and there's no chance that Pickett unseats Hurts for the starting quarterback job in Philadelphia.