Former Miami Dolphins veteran tight end Jonnu Smith finally has a new team.
NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported Thursday that Smith has agreed to a 1-year deal with the Green Bay Packers.
“Sources: The Packers are signing former Pro Bowl TE Jonnu Smith to a 1-year deal,” wrote Schultz on X.
“One of the NFL’s most respected veterans, Smith has amassed 345 career catches and 30 TDs.”
Smith is entering his 10th NFL season. His best campaign came with the Dolphins in 2024 when he posted 88 receptions, 884 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.
Those catches and yards set career highs for the veteran tight end. Smith also had eight touchdowns in 2020 with the Tennessee Titans.
Last season, Smith played for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has also experienced stints with the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons in his career.
Former Dolphins TE Jonnu Smith Signs With Packers: Report
With Smith, the Packers have addressed their tight end depth with a proven veteran although Smith is coming off quite a disappointing season with Pittsburgh.
Pundits expect Tucker Kraft to lead Green Bay’s tight ends once again. Kraft overcame an ACL injury that he sustained in early November last year. If the Packers were adding Smith a few weeks ago, then there might be some cause for alarm with Kraft’s availability to begin the season.
However, Kraft was pretty clear to reporters this week that he is healthy and ready to go.
So, Smith will join Green Bay’s collection of tight ends who will support Kraft this fall. That group includes Josh Whale, Messiah Swinson, Luke Musgrave, Drake Dabney and McCallan Castles.
Smith benefitted greatly in Miami from playing with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Before playing with the Dolphins, he never had more than 70 targets or 50 catches in a season. He blew past those totals in one season with the Dolphins.
Last year with the Steelers, Smith recorded 38 catches, 222 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He averaged an embarrassing 5.8 yards per catch.
Interestingly, Smith played six of his first nine NFL seasons for offensive play-caller Arthur Smith. Jonnu played for the coach in Tennessee, Atlanta and Pittsburgh.
Dolphins TE Depth for Week 3 in the NFL Preseason
The Dolphins traded Smith to the Steelers last summer. This past offseason, they moved on from all their other offensive playmakers from a couple years ago — Hill, Waddle and Tua Tagovailoa.
On Thursday, Miami traded veteran receiver Tutu Atwell. That’s left the cupboard pretty bare for new starting quarterback Malik Willis.
With Smith available until Thursday, the Dolphins could have brought back the veteran tight end. But clearly, the Dolphins elected to have a fresh under new head coach Jeff Hafley.
With the fresh start at all the playmakers spots, veteran tight end Greg Dulcich has a chance to play a significant role in Miami this season. In 10 games last year for the Dolphins, Dulcich posted 26 catches, 335 receiving yards and one touchdown.
He registered career-highs of 33 catches, 411 receiving yards and two scores with the Denver Broncos as a rookie in 2022.
The Dolphins also have Will Kacmarek, Seydou Traore, Jeremiah Franklin, Ben Sims and Ethan Conner on their roster at tight end. Miami, though, will very likely be cutting some of those players. The Dolphins must trim their roster to 53 players by 6 pm ET on Sunday, August 30.
Former Dolphins Pro Bowl TE Signs With NFC Foe: Report