Jonnu Smith came home to play for Miami last season and all he did was put up numbers never before seen by a Dolphins tight end while conducting himself as a true pro and making the Pro Bowl for the first time.
Now, he may get shown the door.
ESPN is reporting that Smith approached the Dolphins asking for a raise and the Dolphins have responded by holding talks with the Pittsburgh Steelers over a potential trade.
If you think this sounds familiar, you’re right (kinda) and wrong (kinda).
In one important way, this is nothing like the situation with another guy on the trading block, cornerback Jalen Ramsey. That’s a case of Ramsey wanting out and the Dolphins wanting him out.
This is a case of Smith wanting in and the Dolphins balking.
Why not an extension for Jonnu Smith that makes everyone happy?
The great unknown is exactly where Smith is drawing a line in the sand. He is underpaid with an average of $4.2 million per year. If he’s looking for a bump, it’s not unreasonable. But he’s not going to land a deal putting him in the neighborhood of, uh, the $12.1 million by Pat Freiermuth, whose presence on the Steelers opens an entirely different set of questions. One explanation for Pittsburgh’s interest in Smith is that offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has coached Jonnu in two NFL stops.
But can’t the Dolphins agree on a couple of extra years’ extension with a signing bonus that rewards Smith but also is cap friendly?
It’s hard to escape one natural reaction after seeing the Dolphins hand out raises like candy, including to a cornerback named Jalen Ramsey. That reaction? The Dolphins may be drawing a hard line in an odd place.
Here’s a list of Miami Dolphins who made the Pro Bowl last season:
1. Jonnu Smith.
2. Nobody.
And here’s a list of Miami Dolphins tight ends throughout history who put up 88 catches, 884 yards and/or eight touchdowns:
1. Jonnu Smith.
2. Nobody.
Mike McDaniel knows how important Smith is to the offense
It’s not just the numbers. Take it from coach Mike McDaniel. He addressed the impact Smith had in a year in which Tyreek Hill’s production was cut in half.
“I don’t think it’s effective offense to throw the ball up into double coverage and throw to where the defense is,” McDaniel said. “And so we’ll always make sure that we complement each other so that there’s no one asset that people can double. You have to make people pay other places.
“Case in point, Jonnu Smith’s productivity. I think he really helped us out with taking advantage of the space that was given up to cover some of the deep zones from both ‘Reek’ and (Jaylen) Waddle and the more effective you are at doing that, once you prove that you can march down the field and beat very preventative, cautious defenses, you have time of possession and you score a touchdown, they will try to get you off the field in different ways and that’s what opens up the full utility belt of offense.”
So the Dolphins will always make sure they have that complement until they don’t. Until they tighten that utility belt.
If they send Smith to Pittsburgh, their remaining tight ends would be Jalin Conyers, Tanner Conner, Pharaoh Brown, Hayden Rucci and Julian Hill. Their combined career stats are 93 catches, 915 yards and three touchdowns — barely exceeding Smith from 2024 alone.
What exactly is the plan here, anyway?
But to look at this strictly from the standpoint of moving the ball through the air, or even just offensively, would be a gross error.
The bigger questions:
What exactly are the Dolphins doing?
What exactly is general manager Chris Grier doing?
What’s the plan? Is there one? Are they rebuilding? Competing? Occupying no-man’s land?
Veterans keep marching out the door. That’s going to happen in this era of teams waving big bucks in front of Rob Hunt, Christian Wilkins and Jevon Holland after they were not locked up before contract years. It’s especially going to happen with a top-heavy salary cap, leaving crumbs for mid-range, high achievers such as Andrew Van Ginkel and Smith.
Remove Smith from the offense and Brown could be next up. He’s the only tight end left with any NFL stats to speak of (72 receptions, 751 yards). Except last season in Seattle, he managed just eight catches for 65 yards despite appearing in 15 games. Defenses will still be concerned about running back De’Von Achane, but it’s a no-brainer they’ll aim to clamp down on Hill and Waddle. Then what?
This offense must produce if the Dolphins are going to have a chance in 2025. The question of what Grier is doing applies to the secondary, possibly because this team doesn’t have one at the moment. Just a hunch that could be an issue vs. Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson, Jayden Daniels and Joe Burrow.
Or, on Dec. 15, when they face the Pittsburgh Steelers and … Jonnu Smith?
Smith had to represent all the Dolphins could ask for. Amid the turbulence at the end of last season. his was a voice of reason, saying there are “definitely a lot more house-cleaning rules we can clean up on.”
Smith also reflected on his eight NFL seasons that included three stops before returning to the area where he starred at FIU.
“Nothing ever came easy for me,” he said. “I like it that way, though. It’s made me a better man. It’s made me a better person. It’s made me more appreciative of the opportunities that I have. To always walk in humility, obviously as a man of faith, that’s one of the pillars of my everyday living.”
Again, we don’t know if his asking price is exorbitant, even though we probably can guess how this story ends.
With yet another productive player walking out the door.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins at it again? Trading Jonnu Smith would be another head-scratcher | Habib
Reporting by Hal Habib, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
