Jonnu Smith had 38 catches last season — down from the 88 he had with the Miami Dolphins in 2024. Charles LeClaire / Imagn Images
March 4, 2026Updated 8:22 pm EST
The Pittsburgh Steelers are releasing tight end Jonnu Smith, according to a league source. The move saves $7 million of Smith’s $10.9 million cap hit. It’s a logical — even inevitable — decision for a team that had more tight ends than it knew what to do with last season.
The Steelers acquired Smith last offseason as part of a blockbuster trade with the Miami Dolphins, hoping he’d give tight end-friendly offensive coordinator Arthur Smith yet another weapon. With Smith, Pat Freiermuth, Darnell Washington and Connor Heyward, the Steelers had one of the most talented, versatile and deep tight ends groups in the league — or so they thought. In reality, two of the NFL’s 10 highest-paid tight ends (Smith and Freiermuth) on the same roster was one too many.
This redundant approach to roster construction hurt both players much more than it helped the offense. After a 2024 Pro Bowl season, Smith’s production fell off a cliff. He caught just 38 passes for 222 yards last year after putting up 88 catches for 884 yards and eight touchdowns in 2024. Perhaps worse, the addition of Smith muddied the depth chart, causing Freiermuth to stand on the sideline much more than a well-compensated player at his position should. After playing between 62 percent and 69 percent of snaps in each of his first four seasons, Freiermuth played only 51 percent of Pittsburgh’s offensive snaps in 2025.
As the Steelers transition from Arthur Smith’s tight end-heavy offense to Mike McCarthy’s system (which uses a lot of three-wide sets), there was no need for Jonnu Smith and Freiermuth in the same offense. Though general manager Omar Khan said the Steelers had the cap space to keep both at the NFL Scouting Combine, a few teams around the league looked at Pittsburgh’s tight ends group and saw a surplus at the position. Some teams, thinking perhaps Freiermuth could be available, asked to see whether he might be available in a trade. The Steelers, though, were always committed to Freiermuth and made that clear by releasing Smith.
The Steelers still have a few decisions to make in this group. Washington is set to enter the fourth and final year of his rookie contract; he’s a candidate for an extension. Meanwhile, Connor Heyward is about to become a free agent.
Mar 5, 2026
Connections: Sports Edition
Spot the pattern. Connect the terms
Find the hidden link between sports terms
Play today’s puzzle