The Green Bay Packers are signing tight end Jonnu Smith to a one-year deal. The team has been thin at tight end all offseason and has been shuffling at the back end of the roster. However, the signing of Smith is likely a sign that the former second-round pick Luke Musgrave will start the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list.
Green Bay Packers Sign Jonnu Smith to One-Year Deal
GettyJonnu Smith #81 of the Pittsburgh Steelers
Musgrave started training camp on the PUP with a neck injury and has not returned. If he starts the year on the PUP, he will miss the first six games of the regular season. Considering the team signed Smith, they are preparing for that possibility.
Behind Musgrave is Josh Whyle. He spent the last year with Green Bay, and they appear to be high on him. However, he was cut by the Tennessee Titans last season and is mostly viewed as a depth option.
Drake Dabney is behind him, and he was starting to gain momentum as someone who will make the Packers roster. However, he profiles more like a blocking tight end who would back up Tucker Kraft more than a complement in the passing game that Musgrave is.
Messaiah Swinson is next in line as a receiving tight end, but he is a convert from wide receiver who has no experience in the NFL. Lastly, the Packers have signed McCallan Castles and Thomas Yassmin this offseason. They are mostly viewed as depth to fill out the room in training camp.
There was not a strong option for the second tight end, and the depth did not offer much, either.
Now, it will be Smith behind Kraft, with Whyle back in his depth role as a third. It also puts Dabney back to being firmly on the roster bubble.
Jonnu Smith Fits with Packers
For Smith, he now gets the chance to extend his career into year ten. Smith was a third-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, going to the Tennessee Titans.
He spent four years in Tennessee and caught 114 passes for 1,302 yards. After that, he spent two seasons with Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. They tried to create their two-tight-end system with Smith and Hunter Henry, but Smith did not quite fit.
He hauled in 55 passes for 539 yards in his two years there. After that, he has been bouncing around the NFL on one-year deals.
He spent one season with the Atlanta Falcons and had career numbers. He caught 50 passes for 582 yards. Smith took on even more after that. He caught 88 passes for 884 yards with the Miami Dolphins.
However, things soured when the Dolphins traded him to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He never got on the same page as Aaron Rodgers and had a low season. He caught just 38 passes for 222 yards.
His last year with Pittsburgh is why it took him so long to sign. However, the two years prior to that are why Green Bay is going to take a chance with a job opening at tight end. The question will be what happens when and if Musgrave returns.
Packers Sign Former Pro Bowler to One-Year Deal