(Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
JuJu Smith-Schuster ruffled some feathers during his Wednesday Zoom interview with the media. Smith-Schuster was asked if the Cleveland Browns, who have been a doormat in the NFL since their return to the league in 1999, are a different team and if they have a more successful vibe.
Smith-Schuster used a classic Tomlinism in his reply back, but some took his answer as disrespectful toward the Browns.
"I think they're still the same Browns team I play every year," Smith-Schuster said. "I think they're nameless gray faces. They have a couple good players on their team, but at the end of the day, I don't know. The Browns is the Browns. It's one of those things, AFC North football. They're a good team. I'm just happy we're playing them again."
Smith-Schuster winked after he said "they're still the same Browns team I play ever year," so he could have just been having fun with it. After all, Browns' linebacker Mack Wilson and other players trolled him after their win over the Steelers on Sunday by playing the song "Adderall (Corvette Corvette)" by Popp Hunna. The "Corvette, Corvette" song was what Smith-Schuster played on his TikTok videos when he used to dance on the opposing team's logo pregame. Smith-Schuster stopped doing his pregame ritual after talking with Mike Tomlin following the loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 15.
The Bengals used Smith-Schuster's pregame ritual of dancing on logos as bulletin board material for extra motivation and ended up upsetting the Steelers. Players on the Browns I'm sure have now seen the quote or video of Smith-Schuster saying "the Browns is the Browns" and they'll probably use it as bulletin board material as well.
Regardless of how people took Smith-Schuster's comments, it won't play much of a factor in who wins Sunday night's wild-card game between Pittsburgh and Cleveland, as both teams should already have enough motivation since it's a win or go home situation.