Jonnu Smith issues warning to Atlanta Falcons ahead of joint practices starting on Tuesday

In February, tight end Jonnu Smith was released by the Atlanta Falcons. This week, they’ll have to deal with him in joint practices against the Miami Dolphins.

The Dolphins are scheduled to practice with the Falcons on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the 28-year-old is more than ready to compete against some other players after only being able to knock heads against his Dolphins teammates to this point.

“Come and set the tone,” Smith said of what the Dolphins want to do. “They comin’ in our house. We’ve been knockin’ each other heads all for the past couple of weeks, man. It’s time to take it out on somebody else, and it just so happened to be them. So, we’ll handle that tomorrow.”

Smith spent the 2023 season with the Falcons, where he appeared in all 17 of their games and got six starts. He finished the campaign with 50 catches for 582 yards and three touchdowns.

The Falcons, transitioning to a new offensive scheme, released him in the offseason and saved some money in cap space in the process. Smith penned a nice message to the organization on his way out.

But with the Falcons and Dolphins now set to compete this week, Smith seems ready to bring it, and nobody would blame him if he admitted to having a little extra motivation after his release from Atlanta.

Smith won’t get a chance to have a revenge game against the Falcons in the 2024 regular season, but the two teams will face off in the preseason. That matchup will come on Friday this week following the teams’ joint practices.

Among players like Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Odell Beckham Jr., the Dolphins are going to have plenty of receiving threats this coming season, but Smith should give quarterback Tua Tagovailoa a solid target at the tight end spot.

The veteran has exceeded 400 receiving yards in three separate seasons during his NFL career, including the 2020 season, when he also totaled a career-high eight touchdown receptions. The Dolphins are his fourth team, as he started his career with the Tennessee Titans before having stops with the New England Patriots and Falcons.

It should be an entertaining week for Smith and the Dolphins as the team continues to prepare for the start of the regular season.