Information that the Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins have been engaged in commerce talks centered round veteran tight finish Jonnu Smith late final week definitely raised some eyebrows, as a consequence of Smith’s familiarity with Steelers’ offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and Pittsburgh needing one other pass-catching weapon after buying and selling away vast receiver George Pickens this offseason.
The match would make sense for the Steelers, however evidently it’s all about leverage for Smith as he desires a brand new deal from the Dolphins.
In response to Smith’s agent Drew Rosenhaus, who spoke with The Miami Herald, his consumer desires to stay with the Dolphins as a consequence of his longtime ties with South Florida courting again to school. Rosenhaus known as remaining with the Dolphins Smith’s “first selection.”
“Right here’s what I’ll say on behalf of my consumer: Jonnu would positively like to remain in Miami,” Rosenhaus mentioned of Smith, based on The Miami Herald. “That’s his first selection. That is the place he lives within the offseason. He had a record-breaking season final yr. It was the most effective season ever for a Miami Dolphins tight finish. He broke the group document for receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns for a decent finish and was the group’s single Professional Bowl participant. He’s an extremely beneficial a part of this group.
“He went to school at FIU. His dream group is the Dolphins. Hopefully, the whole lot works out the place he can keep in Miami.”
Wanting to stay with the Dolphins makes a substantial amount of sense for Smith, who’s coming off a profession season through which he hauled in 88 passes for 884 yards and eight touchdowns, usually serving as the highest goal for Dolphins’ quarterback Tua Tagovailao.
However getting into the 2025 season, Smith is about to make simply $4.8 million, which is outdoors of the high 30 highest-paid tight ends within the NFL.
Based mostly on his manufacturing and his worth to the Dolphins below head coach Mike McDaniel, Smith is in line for a big increase. Nonetheless, issues seemingly haven’t gone all that properly in Miami from a negotiation standpoint, which has led to some commerce chatter with the Steelers.
Whereas there’s an important match and familiarity there between the 2 Smiths courting again to their time collectively in Tennessee and Atlanta, Jonnu Smith’s slot in Pittsburgh could be curious because of the presence of Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington at tight finish already.
It might make for a crowded place group with a number of mouths to feed within the passing recreation. Plus, there’s that uncertainty with the quarterback place the Steelers are coping with this offseason, ready round for a choice from Aaron Rodgers.
Cash is seemingly the primary purpose Smith is being talked about by way of commerce, significantly with the Steelers. However as Rosenhaus made fairly clear, the veteran tight finish desires to stay in South Florida with the Dolphins, a spot he calls house.
That assertion from Rosenhaus is firmly placing the ball within the Dolphins’ courtroom below GM Chris Grier, who has handed out some profitable contracts over the previous couple of years to the likes of Tyreek Hill, Jalen Ramsey, Xavien Howard, Tagovailoa and extra.
Now, his tight finish desires a brand new deal, and rightfully so. We’ll see if the Dolphins and Smith can attain an settlement, or if Smith will get shipped to Pittsburgh. Both means, it appears to be like just like the Steelers are being utilized in negotiations as soon as once more concerning a disgruntled participant and a group largely unwilling to budge from a monetary side.
