Miami Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith, who is heading into the final year of a two-year, $8.4 million deal with the Dolphins, is seeking a restructured deal from the team.
The Dolphins may have to fork up a large chunk of change in order to satisfy him, though. Smith finished the 2024 season with the fourth-most receiving yards of any tight end in the league with 884. For comparison, Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers led all players at the position in the NFL in that stat with 1,194 receiving yards.
According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, Smith wants “a lot” of money in a reworked deal from the Dolphins.
"Jonnu Smith is a big part of the Dolphins..
I know he wants more money and he would like to stay in Miami" ~ @RapSheet #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/rmpAimYopD
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 30, 2025
“I know he wants a lot,” Rapoport said. “We’ll see what they end up doing. But again, going back to the [Jalen] Ramsey thing, if they are able to trade Jalen Ramsey, that’s $21 million. Some of the $21 million will come off the books depending on how much they pay, so that might — trading Ramsey might help Jonnu Smith get the contract he wants as well.”
Whether or not the Dolphins will meet Smith’s asking price for a restructured contract seems to be very much up in the air. A recent rumor indicated that the Dolphins have had trade talks with the Pittsburgh Steelers regarding Smith.
Still, the Dolphins would probably be wise to heavily consider retaining Smith moving forward as long as he isn’t asking for everything and the kitchen sink in a new deal. Miami would be hard-pressed to acquire a tight end via trade or on the open market who could replicate Smith’s elite production from a season ago.
Smith also proved to be a great fit alongside signal-caller Tua Tagovailoa, as he totaled 62 catches for 626 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns across the 11 contests he played with the quarterback in the 2024 season.
Smith was one of Miami’s premier offensive players last season, but his career year wasn’t exactly foreseen by a whole lot of people. Before he earned his first Pro Bowl nod in the 2024 season, he had never finished with more than 582 receiving yards in a single campaign in the best football league in the world.
Here’s to hoping that Smith and the Dolphins will come to terms on a restructured deal before the new season and that he will be able to continue his meteoric rise in the 2025 season. Quadruple digits in receiving yards seems to be a realistic goal for the 29-year-old tight end.
