By Andrew McCartyShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberVeteran wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster is hoping to keep the Kansas City Chiefs' positive despite being eliminated from playoff contention - and losing their star quarterback.
“Yeah, I mean, dude. For me, I’ve been in worse situations, and I feel like being here and being around this organization, they felt a lot of [positivity] in the last year,” Smith-Schuster said last week. “And I think for me it’s moreso just keeping the energy up, don’t lose our personality.”
“And that’s one thing [Chiefs HC Andy Reid] talks about, don’t lose yourself. In times like this, teams tend go to all over the place, but staying here, staying close together — moments like this is when you really get to know one another. And I think that’s what it’s all about. The vets kinda already know how it is, and like you said me being a positive guy in the room, just being able to keep that energy up.”
More NFL: NFL Reaches Punishment Decision on Travis Kelce After Chiefs-Texans
...More Football: NFL Reaches Punishment Decision After Patrick Mahomes Incident vs Colts
As Smith-Schuster prepares to keep the team's energy high in the wake of losing star quarterback Patrick Mahomes and losing a chance at the playoffs, the NFL had some unfortunate news for him.
On Saturday, the league announced its list of game day punishments and hit Smith-Schuster with a $7,903 fine for a blindside block at led the Chiefs to a 3rd-and-16 against the Los Angeles Chargers in the fourth quarter. Just a few plays later, Mahomes threw an interception and the Chiefs chances of the playoffs slipped away for good.
"To protect players from unnecessary risk and preserve competitive balance and game integrity, the NFL and NFL Players Association have agreed on a set of game-related rules violations that may result in accountability measures," the NFL said in its announcement of the punishments.
More Football: Harsh Punishment Announced for 2 Major Teams After Skipping Bowl Game
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