Pittsburgh Steelers BACK IN on Trading for Jonnu Smith

Originally posted on Dolphins Talk | By Mike Oliva | Last updated Jun 3, 2025 10:36 PM ET

A week ago, Adam Schefter said Pittsburgh and Miami were discussing a trade that would send Jonnu Smith to the Steelers.

Then, on Tuesday morning, June 3rd, Adam Schefter said that he was hearing that Pittsburgh was not expected to trade for Jonnu Smith

However, on Tuesday evening, a new Adam Schefter report emerged, stating that the trade was still alive and the two sides were in talks again.

Now, something did happen between Tuesday morning and Tuesday afternoon, and it’s sad news that Steelers tight end Donald Parham Jr tore his Achilles and is out for the season, putting the Steelers in the market for a tight end.

With this news today, a few things are becoming clear.

Miami is not negotiating with Jonnu to try to keep him, and they want to move him at this time.

Even if everything with this Steelers trade falls apart, Miami is probably going to work the phones to try to trade him somewhere else.

It appears the relationship with Jonnu and the Dolphins is broken!

Smith will be 30 in August and is coming off the best season of his career. In 2024, with the Dolphins, Smith had 88 receptions, 884 yards, and eight touchdowns. He also made the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career.

Prior to joining Miami, Smith played for Atlanta, New England, and the Tennessee Titans.

The Dolphins are in a rebuilding year this season, even though they won’t admit it. Moving Smith prior to training camp would be another clear sign they have more of an eye on the future than winning and competing this season. The Dolphins’ tight end room is very thin behind Smith.

Miami only has Pharaoh Brown, Julian Hill, and Tanner Conner as legitimate NFL-caliber tight ends on the roster, and none of those are true threats in the passing game.

Moving on from Smith would probably have Miami looking to add another tight end before training camp; it would also be a huge loss to the Dolphins’ offense heading into this season.

It is unclear how much of a raise or extension Smith wants, or if Smith just wants out of Miami like Jalen Ramsey, Calais Campbell, Jevon Holland, and many other vets that have bolted this offseason.

Either way, with Miami having so many holes to fill in their secondary and on their defensive line, creating another hole at tight end isn’t ideal as we inch closer to training camp.