There were a pair of reports from national insiders this afternoon that suggested the Pittsburgh Steelers were in the trade market for various players. Adam Schefter linked them to TE Jonnu Smith, who spent five of his eight seasons in the NFL with Arthur Smith as his coach. According to one local insider, there isn’t much to that report at the moment.
“I know guys, it’s not coming from the team. I think it’s probably a situation where Jonnu Smith has played for Arthur Smith before and I think his agent is probably trying to use this as leverage. So that’s my take on it right now,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo said via 93.7 The Fan’s The PM Team. “I never say never…But I don’t think there’s much to it right now.”
We saw a notable showdown between local and national reporters during the 2025 NFL Draft when it came to the Steelers’ first-round priority. The national media folks were heavily linking the Steelers to QB Shedeur Sanders while the local slant was towards a defensive lineman.
Obviously, the local media ended up being correct in that case, but there is no denying Schefter’s sources and it’s tough to completely dismiss the idea. The Steelers brought in MyCole Pruitt and Cordarrelle Patterson with ties to Smith last year, so why not Jonnu Smith this year?
The Steelers ran a fair amount of 13 and 14 personnel with three or four tight ends on the field at the same time. They could stand to upgrade that group over Connor Heyward and MyCole Pruitt from last year. Alongside Pat Freiermuth and Donald Parham Jr., Jonnu Smith would make a nice addition.
In five years with Arthur Smith as his coach, Smith’s receiving yard production increased year over year. That ended with 582 yards in 2023 under head coach Arthur Smith. He managed to top that in his first Pro Bowl season last year with 884 yards and eight TDs on the Miami Dolphins. For reference, that is more than Heath Miller ever had in his entire career for a single season.
A Smith trade makes sense for his link to Arthur Smith. But it also makes sense for how the Steelers want to run their offense and their need for receiving weapons after trading George Pickens.
For what it’s worth, a separate national insider said the Steelers are engaged in trade talks with multiple teams to add to their offense. Why couldn’t the Dolphins and Smith be one of them?
