On the bright side for Smith, he is bringing a friend along with him – Jalen Ramsey. The tight end and cornerback were dealt by the Miami Dolphins on June 30 to the Pittsburgh Steelers, ending the rumors that swirled around both players all offseason.
While Smith didn’t want a trade, he is excited about the new opportunity. Smith joined Terron Armstead’s podcast on July 2 to talk about the situation with the now-retired Dolphins offensive tackle.
‘You always want to be where you’re most valued and appreciated, and that’s the situation that I found myself in with Pittsburgh. So I’m excited, bro,’ Smith said.
Considering Pittsburgh’s run of success, it’s a situation that both Smith and Ramsey are looking forward to.
‘Pittsburgh is a team that’s historically going to always be in the dance,’ Smith said of his conversations with Ramsey about preferred destinations. ‘Just maybe a couple of missing pieces like us, that can fill that void and get over that hump. One thing we both admired about the situation is the culture. The culture that [head coach] Mike [Tomlin] established.’
While Smith welcomes the new opportunity, the tight end wasn’t looking to be on a one-way flight out of Miami after a career year in South Florida. He finished with 88 receptions, 884 yards and eight touchdowns in 2024 – setting career-highs for receptions and yards.
He indicated that his desire was to remain in Miami, with the hopes to eventually end his career with the Dolphins. That never came to fruition, with the deal being finalized over a month after the initial report of a possible trade surfaced on May 29.
Smith wanted to renegotiate his contract with the Dolphins and the team responded by discussing a trade with the Steelers, according to a report.
‘I didn’t foresee this happening with how the season went for me individually,’ Smith said. ‘Obviously I had aspirations of ending my career in Miami, with it basically being home for me, my children, my family. But I understand the business side of it, and it didn’t work out. I’m grateful. I’ve got no ill feelings toward Miami and nobody in the organization. I can’t sit here and lie and say it didn’t sting when the process was playing itself out.’
Now on his fifth NFL team, Smith considered himself to be a key piece in helping Miami succeed going forward.
‘We go through the year, bro, and obviously as a team it was a disappointment, and that does play a factor in a lot of decision making after the season,’ Smith said. ‘But for me I felt that I was in a position that I thought that I was one of the key ingredients to helping this team succeed. And after the season ended, me and my agent, we’re like, ‘This is a no-brainer, we’ll be here forever.”
He mentioned buying a bigger place to live for his family, while even eyeing what life could look like in the area after football.
‘Going through that process, I was hurt. I didn’t think that collectively – as an organization, players, coaches – I didn’t think that [they believed] trading Jonnu Smith, that’s where our success starts,’ Smith said.
For the third time in three years, Smith will be wearing a new jersey. Perhaps with another Pro Bowl-caliber season, it could be the only one he’s wearing for a long time.
All the NFL news on and off the field. Sign up for USA TODAY’s 4th and Monday newsletter.
