Jonnu Smith thought he had found a home in Miami. After putting up one of the best seasons ever by a Dolphins tight end, he figured it was only a matter of time before he signed a long-term deal and settled in for good.
Instead, the Dolphins sent him packing.
The trade that sent Smith – along with cornerback Jalen Ramsey – to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick left fans shocked. Smith, even more so. “I really thought we were locked in,” he said on Trenches Talk, the podcast hosted by his former teammate Terron Armstead.
Smith had every reason to expect some job security. He’d just set Dolphins franchise records at tight end across the board: 88 catches, 884 yards, and 8 touchdowns in 2024. The chemistry was there, the numbers were there – but the money wasn’t.
Smith felt the love from fans – but not from the front office
“We tried to have those talks early in the offseason,”Smith said. “But after a while, it was clear they weren’t ready to treat me like a Pro Bowl tight end.”
Reports from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler confirm Miami was tightening the cap and prioritizing other parts of the roster. The Dolphins may have viewed Smith’s breakout as an outlier – or simply couldn’t afford to keep him around.
Pittsburgh clearly saw things differently.
Days after the trade, the Steelers gave Smith a one-year, $12 million extension through 2026. It’s a huge bump from the $3.49 million he was set to earn this season, and, as reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, it includes incentives that could make the deal even sweeter.
Still, Smith isn’t bitter. “No ill will,” he said. “I love Miami. But sometimes you gotta go where you’re valued.”
In Pittsburgh, he’s not just valued – he’s part of the plan.
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