Injury update on Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster

The Pittsburgh Steelers will be without wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster for the rest of the season. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Monday afternoon that the wideout and the Steelers have decided he will have surgery, ruling him out for the year. The procedure was successful, but the third-year player is a huge loss for a Pittsburgh offense which has struggled this season.

In Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos, Smith-Schuster took a handoff on an end around and took a big hit from Broncos safety Kareem Jackson. Needing help off the field, he never returned.

The USC product has 14 receptions for 129 yards this season and has yet to find the end zone. His 14 receptions and 129 yards are the fourth most on the team.

Chase Claypool leads the team with 341 receiving yards while Diontae Johnson leads the way with 25 receptions. The Steelers have been dealing with a lack of depth in their receiver room to begin with, as Johnson missed Sunday’s game and Claypool has surfaced on injury reports throughout the week.

What this means for Pittsburgh’s offense

The Steelers are currently 2-3 and sit alone at the bottom of the AFC North division. Every other team in the division has three wins.

Pittsburgh held on for a close win over the Broncos on Sunday, but its offense continues to be a work in progress. Injuries have put even more pressure on quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who is banged up and has been struggling this season. Roethlisberger has completed just under 64 percent of his passes for 1,286 yards, six touchdowns, and four interceptions.

“It’s tough seeing him in that type of pain, and that’s for anybody on the field, it’s tough seeing somebody get hurt that’s a key player to the offense,” Johnson said Monday. “Just got to rally around him and just be there for him off the field.”