The Pittsburgh Steelers could enter 2025 the same way they did last season — without a quality starting wide receiver to play opposite their No. 1 outside playmaker. But acquiring another tight end such as Jonnu Smith could be a possibility for the Steelers.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the Steelers have engaged in trade talks with the Miami Dolphins about Smith this offseason.
“The Dolphins have had trade discussion with the Pittsburgh Steelers about their lone Pro-Bowl selection last season, tight end Jonnu Smith, per league sources,” Schefter tweeted. “Those talks came after Smith expressed an interest in reworking his deal that is scheduled to pay him $4.8 million this season.
“With Smith seeking a new contract, Miami has sought a trade partner. Last season, Smith set the franchise record for a tight end in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns.
“Smith’s preference, per sources, is to stay in Miami under a reworked deal.”
In 2024, Smith made his first Pro Bowl with 88 receptions, 884 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. The veteran tight end has one year remaining on his current deal.
Smith signed a two-year, $8.4 million deal to join the Dolphins last offseason.
The veteran tight end has a long history with Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Arthur was Smith’s tight ends coach with the Tennessee Titans his first two seasons in the league (2017-18). Arthur then became the team’s offensive coordinator in Smith’s final two years with Tennessee (2019-20).
During 2023, Smith played for the Atlanta Falcons when Arthur was the team’s head coach.
How TE Jonnu Smith Could Fit With the Steelers
The fit for Smith in Pittsburgh is fairly obviously. The tight end has played for Arthur in five of his eight NFL seasons.
The offensive coordinator clearly loves working with the veteran tight end.
Arthur has always enjoyed deploying multiple tight-end sets in his offense. Steelers.com’s Dale Lolley highlighted that point in his 2024 season review of the team’s tight ends.
“The Steelers played with two or three tight ends as much as any team in the league, often with [Pat] Freiermuth and [Darnell] Washington on the field together,” Lolley wrote. “If it wasn’t that grouping, MyCole Pruitt and Connor Heyward were on the field as part of those packages, as Pruitt played 24 percent of the offensive snaps, while Heyward was at 18.3 percent as a fullback/h-back.”
If the Steelers acquired Smith, they would have two strong pass-catching tight ends. Pat Freiermuth led Pittsburgh with 65 receptions and was second on the team with 653 receiving yards.
Last season, Freiermuth and Smith combined for 153 catches and 1,537 receiving yards.
The Steelers only have one quality outside target with DK Metcalf on their roster. But if they had both Freiermuth and Smith, the team’s hole at WR2 wouldn’t be as big of a deal.
Why the Steelers Shouldn’t Trade for Smith
As enticing as pairing Freiermuth and Smith sounds, there’s a couple reasons why Smith isn’t an ideal trade target for Pittsburgh.
First, Arthur Smith has become enamored with the tight end in the past. As head coach of the Falcons, Arthur received criticism for designing plays for Smith instead of young stars such as Bijan Robinson and Drake London.
The Steelers don’t have an all-around talent like Robinson in the backfield. But the Steelers would still prefer Arthur’s offense to revolve around Metcalf, Freiermuth and the team’s pair of running backs, Jaylen Warren and Kaleb Johnson, rather than a 30-year-old tight end.
There should also be questions about whether Smith can repeat what he did in 2024. Before last season, he never had more than 50 catches and 582 receiving yards.
As deep as the relationship is between Smith and the Steelers OC, the tight end also had his best statistical season in one of the few years Arthur wasn’t one of his coaches.
Furthermore, if the Steelers want to feature a 1-2 punch at tight end, they may already have the right players to do that with Freiermuth and Darnell Washington.
Additionally, with Smith, the Steelers likely wouldn’t have roster space to keep tight end Connor Heyward, who is a key special teams player.
The Dolphins tight end is an intriguing trade target depending on the price. But ideally, the Steelers need to add a bigger outside receiver threat this offseason.
