Veteran TE Jonnu Smith prioritized feeling appreciated this offseason, prompting his trade to the Steelers, part of controlling his narrative. Even though he is now on his fifth team in his NFL career, he maintains that this is based on his preferences. Although he can’t control all of his circumstances, he argues he has been the one to move on.
Drafted by the Tennessee Titans, he spent four years there, then signed a lucrative contract with the New England Patriots. For some reason, they included $31,250,000 guaranteed out of $50 million. But after two frustrating seasons, Smith says he asked for a trade. I don’t see any formal record of this, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t ask for it.
“I’ve got nothing but respect for that organization, but it just didn’t work out”, Jonnu Smith told former Dolphins teammate Terron Armstead about his disappointing tenure with the Patriots. He noted that they wanted to tweak his contract. “After talking with my agent, I knew it was best for me to get out of there. I told them, ‘It’s time to move on. It’s time for me to get a new start’”.
Arthur Smith coached him as a tight ends coach and then as an offensive coordinator with the Tennessee Titans. Later, as the head coach of the Falcons, he traded for Smith, and he had a strong season in Atlanta. “He comes and gets me from New England. I could have stayed in New England”, he said.
But then the Falcons fired Arthur Smith, and Jonnu Smith worried about his role in the new regime. “The first thing I did was I said to myself, ‘I do not want to be in a situation like I was in New England’”, he said. “I told them, ‘If you don’t see me as playing in a role Arthur Smith did or more, just show me the respect and let me go’”.
The Falcons released him, and Smith signed with the Dolphins before even reaching free agency. Of course, as a street free agent, he didn’t need to wait, as any team could have signed him. But he called the Dolphins a perfect fit, and with them, he produced Pro Bowl numbers. Despite his success, however, they were unwilling to pay him accordingly, prompting another trade request.
“I’ve controlled my own narrative”, Jonnu Smith insists. “I left Tennessee and became the highest-paid tight end in history, guaranteed money-wise. Left Tennessee, go to New England. I could have stayed in New England, [but] I wanted to be traded.
“I got traded, I get to Atlanta, and seeing how the situation is going, I asked to be released. I get to Miami. Could have stayed in Miami, obviously. But I just wanted to be appreciated. That didn’t happen, and now I’m here in Pittsburgh, which I’m extremely grateful for”.
Entering his ninth season and soon to turn 30, Jonnu Smith is making good money playing for a coach with whom he has great familiarity. For a guy who has two trades and one release behind him, it certainly doesn’t sound like a journeyman’s story.
