Adam Schefter can’t appear to get his story straight on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ curiosity in buying and selling for TE Jonnu Smith, however one factor may be very clear. Arthur Smith loves Smith and would in all probability be ecstatic to reunite with him in Pittsburgh.
NFL Community’s Cameron Wolfe spoke to Arthur Smith and had this to say by way of The Insiders this night.
“Proper now, each side need to be again in Miami. If it goes sideways, a deal can’t get accomplished, possibly that’s once we see a commerce. If we do, I’d take a look at the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Wolfe mentioned. “I’ve talked to their offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith, and he loves Jonnu Smith in all probability greater than anyone apart from Jonnu Smith’s mama.”
Of Jonnu Smith’s eight seasons within the NFL, 5 of them have been with Arthur Smith as his coach. He had him as a TE coach and offensive coordinator in Tennessee after which as a head coach in Atlanta for a 12 months.
Our Alex Kozora recapped a few of Arthur Smith’s ideas on Jonnu Smith after the Falcons traded for him in 2023.
“That man means a lot to me,” Smith instructed the Atlanta media.
The Steelers want one other receiving risk. Nothing says it needs to be a large receiver. Should you stacked Jonnu Smith’s Professional Bowl 2024 season up in opposition to all tight finish seasons in Steelers’ historical past, it might arguably be the most effective ever. His 884 yards can be second solely to Eric Inexperienced, and his eight touchdowns can be tied with Heath Miller for probably the most ever in franchise historical past.
With this night’s breaking information of TE Donald Parham Jr. struggling an Achilles tear at OTAs, it makes much more sense for the Steelers so as to add a good finish who can spherical out that room and add a major playmaker to the offense.
Arthur Smith runs a ton of multi-TE packages. Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington are locks, however Connor Heyward was hardly a contributor on offense final 12 months. They want not less than yet another on the roster, and Smith makes all of the sense.
As Wolfe mentioned, this Jonnu Smith scenario is “all in regards to the cash.” The Steelers have cash to spend and a reasonably pressing want on the place. With Smith, they will kill two birds with one stone.
