Jonnu Smith says he thought he was going to be in Miami ‘forever’ after big 2024 season

Not too long ago, the tea leaves suggested that there was a real chance that star tight end Jonnu Smith was going to stick around with the Miami Dolphins for the long haul. NFL insider Cameron Wolfe claimed earlier in the offseason that Smith and the Dolphins had mutual interest in remaining together as Smith sought a restructured deal from the Dolphins.

Moreover, the Dolphins perhaps should have had plenty of motivation to sign Smith to a restructured deal after the 2024 season he enjoyed. In a season that saw a lot go wrong for the Dolphins both on and off the field, the play of Smith was a real bright spot. He totaled the most receiving yards of any tight end in a single season in Dolphins history with 884.

But Smith is now a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers after a trade, and he said that he thought he was going to be in Miami “forever” after the career year he enjoyed.

“I felt like I was in a position and one of the key ingredients to helping this team succeed and after the season ended, me and my agent, we like, ‘This a no brainer. We gone be here forever,'” Smith said.

Smith was even imagining life after football in South Florida.

“It’s a lot of things positive that were working for me individually after the season for me to be in Miami long term — like even life after football,” Smith said.

According to Smith, he had financial conversations with the Dolphins as soon as their season ended in January. He wanted to be paid like one of the top tight ends in the NFL, but Miami wasn’t willing to fork up the amount of money he wanted.

“Eventually it came a point and time when they told me they can’t do it,” Smith said.

Smith joins a Steelers team that was in desperate need of a talented tight end such as himself before it traded for the 29-year-old along with star cornerback Jalen Ramsey. After all, Steelers tight end Donald Parham Jr. went down with a torn Achilles during OTAs in June, and the expectation is that he will miss the entirety of the upcoming 2025 season.

Hopefully for Smith, he’ll be able to emulate his level of play in his one season in a Dolphins uniform with his new team and help the Steelers take that next step into Super Bowl contention. The Steelers won 10 of their 17 games played in the 2024 regular season and qualified for the playoffs before taking a quick exit.