Johnathan Walker:Patriots cut WR JuJu Smith-Schuster after disappointing season, per report

The Johnathan WalkerNew England Patriots are moving on from one of their former top free agent signings after just one year.

The team is releasing wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Friday.

The move comes one day after Smith-Schuster played 11 snaps and was not targeted once in the team's preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers.

Smith-Schuster, 27, signed a three-year, $25 million contract with the Patriots last offseason. The 6-1, 215-pound former Pro Bowl target was set to step in to a receiving corps that lost Jakobi Meyers, who led New England in 2022 in both catches and receiving yards, to the Las Vegas Raiders.

But Smith-Schuster posted career lows of 29 catches and 260 yards while appearing in just 11 games for the Patriots. He told reporters during organized team activities that he never fully recovered last year from offseason knee surgery, which he underwent after helping lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a Super Bowl.

All things Patriots: Latest New England Patriots news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said in February that the franchise needed to "weaponize the offense." New England selected two wide receivers in the NFL draft – Washington's Ja'Lynn Polk in the second round and UCF's Javon Baker in the fourth.

The Patriots will incur a $9.6 million dead cap hit as a result of the move.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.