Does Aaron Rodgers accelerate Steelers' Jonnu Smith trade interest?
Does Aaron Rodgers accelerate Steelers' Jonnu Smith trade interest?
It's been quiet on the Jonnu Smith front.
After an initial report that the Miami Dolphins had engaged in trade discussions with the Pittsburgh Steelers involving tight end Jonnu Smith, there's been some twists and turns since.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on June 3 during the Dolphins' OTAs that the Steelers were not expected to trade for Smith. Then, later that same day, the Steelers reportedly reignited trade talks surrounding Smith.
Now that the Steelers signed quarterback Aaron Rodgers, is there more urgency for Pittsburgh to try to get a deal done and to get another weapon in tow quickly? That would certainly seem logical.
Rodgers currently has wide receivers DK Metcalf and Calvin Austin III and tight end Pat Freiermuth as his top pass-catchers to work with. But, the Steelers' brass knows that it needs to bring in more talent for its 41-year-old veteran signal-caller.
CBS NFL insider Jonathan Jones discussed the Steelers' skill position pursuit on a recent episode of the "Pushing the Pile" podcast.
"They're going to have to get another pass-catcher. I don't know if that's a wide receiver and I don't know if that's a tight end. They're going to have to get a pass-catcher and they know that. They've been lowballing teams when they make a call. 'Hey, how about this guy? No, we're not doing that for a conditional sixth-round pick.' They'll get there," Jones said of the Steelers' front office.
After inking Rodgers to a one-year, $13.6 million contract, the Steelers have $18.8 million in effective cap space per Over The Cap. Pittsburgh currently has $87.1 million and $184.6 million in effective cap space in 2026 and 2027 according to Over The Cap.
Though the Steelers haven't made an enticing enough offer yet to pry Smith away from the Dolphins, that's a good bit of financial flexibility for Pittsburgh to operate with if it does strike a deal with Miami and then wants to keep Smith longterm.
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Smith is asking for a substantially larger sum of money. Smith's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said in early June that Miami is still Smith's first choice, though.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa shared his stance on Smith's future in Miami during minicamp, indicating he'd like Miami to lock in Smith for the future.
"Oh 100%, that's my guy. That's my dog. Jonnu has done really good for us. I have nothing bad to say about him. I love him as a person, too, outside of football. I think all of our guys that do what they need to do, they should get paid," Tagovailoa said Tuesday from the Dolphins' mandatory minicamp in Miami Gardens.
Smith is coming off a career season in which he hauled in 88 passes for 884 yards and eight scores. All of those numbers set new single-season Dolphins records for a Miami tight end.
That's plenty of incentive for Miami to keep Smith around. But, with Smith's absence from the Dolphins' minicamp and the Steelers looking for weapons to win right now, that potential trade link remains worth monitoring.
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