Plagued by injuries at tight end, the Green Bay Packers made a move on Thursday to reinforce the position. Sources tell NFL insider Jordan Schultz that the team is signing tight end Jonnu Smith to a one-year deal.
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Smith played his 2025 season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, finishing with 38 receptions for 222 receiving yards and two touchdowns in 17 games, with seven starts, and also added a score on the ground.
The 100th overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft has nine years of NFL experience to help quarterback Jordan Love and the Packers. Last season, the team had just Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave as its main options at the position. However, Kraft had 32 catches and played in just eight games as he suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Meanwhile, Musgrave, playing all 17 games, managed to rack up just 24 catches last season. Overall, the tight end spot in Green Bay required a veteran to add depth to the otherwise thin room, as Kraft is recovering from a torn ACL and Musgrave is dealing with a neck injury.
The team has not declared what Musgrave’s injury is and will take time to assess his status for the season. According to Packers News, the team could keep him on injured reserve with a designated-to-return option. But if there isn’t any chance of his return, the team will place him on a season-ending injured reserve.
That is exactly the void Smith is being asked to fill, and his arrival gives Love another trusted target.
He has been a reliable starter for all the teams that he has played for. The 31-year-old started his NFL journey with the Tennessee Titans, playing four years on a $3.1 million contract.
He then joined the New England Patriots on a massive four-year, $50 million contract. But the team traded him to the Atlanta Falcons, and the Patriots received a seventh-round pick in the 2023 draft.
However, the Falcons ended up cutting Smith, which led him to the Miami Dolphins in 2024 on a two-year, $8.4 million deal. That was the best year Smith had in the league. He finished that season with a career-high 88 catches for 884 yards and eight touchdowns, earning the first Pro Bowl selection of his career.
Last year he landed with the Steelers in a multi-player trade. He was traded along with Kalen Ramsey and a 2027 seventh-round pick. The Dolphins got defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick and a 2027 fifth-round pick.
Now, he starts fresh with the Packers, bringing that experience to a young offense in need of a reliable target. If he can stay healthy and build chemistry with Love, this one-year deal could prove to be a smart move.