TE Jonnu Smith Remains in Trade Talks, Steelers Emerging as Potential Destination

Initial reports indicated that the Steelers were interested in trading for an additional weapon on offense after shipping off WR George Pickens to Dallas for draft pick compensation. Since then, Jonnu Smith’s name has been floated over and over again and remains the hottest name in the discussion as of the publishing of this newsletter. Smith is coming off a career year in Miami that saw him rack up an all-time 8s lineup: he reeled in 88 passes for 884 yards and 8 touchdowns in 2024 and finished as the overall TE4 on the season. That production came despite Tua Tagovailoa being injured for part of the season and with both Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle on the field for the majority of the year, making Smith’s age 29, year-8 breakout all the more impressive. Smith’s connection to the Steelers in trade talks is unsurprising, to say the least, especially considering his ties to current Steelers OC Arthur Smith: not only do the two share a last name, but Arthur was Jonnu’s offensive coordinator during Jonnu’s time in Tennessee and his head coach in their lone season together in Atlanta (2023). Recent reports indicate that both Jonnu Smith and the Dolphins would like to work out a deal that keeps him in Miami, and without any trade talks heating up on the Steelers end, the most likely scenario is one where Jonnu Smith stays put with the Dolphins. That’s the preferred outcome for Smith, as well, as a trade to Pittsburgh would be sentencing him to No. 2 duties behind D.K. Metcalf on an offense that is famously not in possession of a real starting QB.