The Miami Dolphins are reportedly entertaining trade offers for Pro Bowl tight end Jonnu Smith. That doesn’t mean that they are dying to ship him out, that just means that he’s asking for a pay bump – and possibly some guarantees – for the 2025 season and beyond. That’s not abnormal for a player of his caliber coming off of an “I didn’t think you had that in you”-type of season.
Previously, Adam Schefter reported that the Dolphins were talking to the Pittsburgh Steelers about trading for Smith. Now, that doesn’t seem to be the case any longer.
“Sources: Former Bills and Jaguars WR Gabe Davis is scheduled to travel to Pittsburgh on Wednesday to visit with the Steelers on Thursday,” Schefter tweets. “Pittsburgh has been seeking additional receiving help and has inquired about, but is not expected to trade for, Miami TE Jonnu Smith.”
The tight end trade market has oddly been difficult this offseason and it should come as no surprise that Smith’s camp says he’d like to stay put. Smith’s agent Drew Rosenhaus went on WSVN’s weekly Sunday night sports show and said his client enjoys the warm sunshine of South Florida.
“Here’s what I will say on behalf of my client: Jonnu would definitely like to stay in Miami,” Rosenhaus said, per The Miami Herald. “That’s his first choice. This is where he lives in the offseason. He had a record-breaking season last year. It was the best season ever for a Miami Dolphins tight end. He broke the team record for receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns for a tight end and was the team’s single Pro Bowl player. He’s an incredibly valuable part of this team.”
He didn’t even mention that the majority of that record-breaking damage was done in the second half of the 2024 season, which shows just how dominant he was over that portion of time.
“He went to college at FIU. His dream team is the Dolphins,” Rosenhaus continued. “Hopefully, everything works out where he can stay in Miami.”
Don’t expect to hear much publicly from the Dolphins
The Dolphins start their second OTA session today (Tuesday) and they are voluntary. So, it’s a possibility that Smith will continue to be marked absent and not show up and practice. It’s also a distinct possibility that the team will be asked about it and avoid straight answers.
Alain Poupart of Sports Illustrated says that’s exactly what will happen.
“And while head coach Mike McDaniel certainly will be asked before the Dolphins have their second open OTA of the offseason Tuesday, it’s entirely possible that he will decline to discuss the Smith situation,” Poupart writes. “And GM Chris Grier isn’t scheduled to speak to the media until the time of final cuts to the 53-man roster.”
So, yeah, don’t expect any new “news” on the situation this afternoon outside of “we want him here,” and “he wants to be here.”
Potential trade partners for Jonnu
It’s unclear why so many proven tight ends have been linked to trades in the NFL this offseason, and equally unclear why none have moved. Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert was on the market around the NFL Draft, until he wasn’t. He restructured his contract and will stay in Philly. The Baltimore Ravens didn’t say “no” when asked if Mark Andrews was available around that same time. Nothing happened. Kyle Pitts in Atlanta? Similar story although he’s now banged up.
So, who might want Smith? He’d probably cost less than the other three, since 2024 was really a unicorn season for him. Scratch formerly tight-end-needy teams like the New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears off the list, because they just spent significant draft capital on the position.
It seems to come back to the Denver Broncos, even though they added Evan Engram in the offseason. Engram is a pass-catching tight end, but he often struggles to actually catch the passes.
Justin Melo of The Draft Network agrees that Denver could be a good landing spot for Smith.
“Adam Trautman was asked to masquerade as a TE1 last season due to his familiarity with head coach Sean Payton,” Melo writes. “The Broncos wisely acquired Evan Engram this offseason, but he’s always been a catch-first tight end. Trading for Smith would offer Nix another weapon in the passing game, while simultaneously bumping Trautman to a more appropriate spot on the depth chart, and ensuring Engram isn’t asked to in-line block, which is a major weakness in his game.”
