The Green Bay Packers made a late-summer splash Thursday, agreeing to a one-year deal with veteran tight end Jonnu Smith, according to a team source confirmed by The Athletic and ESPN's Adam Schefter. The 31-year-old former Pro Bowler gives Jordan Love and Matt LaFleur's offense another proven receiving weapon at a position where Green Bay needed veteran insurance. It is a low-risk, potentially high-upside move for a team with genuine NFC title ambitions, and it reshapes the tight end room picture as the regular season approaches.
From Pro Bowl Peak to Pittsburgh Bust
Smith's career has been one of the wildest arcs in the modern tight end market. The Tennessee Titans drafted him in the third round in 2017, and after four productive seasons in Nashville he cashed in with a big free-agent deal in New England in 2021. That stint fizzled, as did a two-year run in Atlanta, before everything clicked in Miami in 2024. Playing alongside Tua Tagovailoa, Smith put up the best season of his life: 88 catches, 857 yards and eight touchdowns, earning his first Pro Bowl nod and looking like one of the league's most dangerous seam threats with the ball in his hands.
The good vibes did not survive the trip to Pittsburgh. The Steelers acquired Smith ahead of the 2025 season, but the fit never materialized. He finished the year with just 38 receptions for 222 yards, a paltry 5.8 yards per reception, and became one of the more disappointing additions of that Steelers offense. Pittsburgh released him this offseason, eating $3.8 million in dead money while freeing up $7 million in cap space. For a player who had just turned in a career year two seasons earlier, the fall was abrupt.
Why Green Bay? Why Now?
The path to Green Bay ran through Miami. Earlier this month, NFL super agent Drew Rosenhaus revealed Smith had interest in returning to South Florida and rejoining the Dolphins for 2026. But with the two sides apart on money, the door opened for the Packers, who moved quickly once Smith hit the open market. It is a classic Gutekunst-era signing: short-term, team-friendly, and aimed squarely at maximizing the quarterback's weapons.
The fit makes sense when you look at Green Bay's tight end room. Tucker Kraft is the entrenched starter after a breakout campaign, but behind him the picture is murky. Luke Musgrave, once a promising second-round pick, has seen his career repeatedly derailed by injuries, and the depth behind those two is largely unproven. Adding a veteran with Smith's résumé gives LaFleur a legitimate second tight end in 12 personnel, a formation the Packers lean on heavily to stress defenses in the run game and over the middle.
What Smith Still Brings to the Table
Even in a down year in Pittsburgh, the underlying traits that made Smith a star in Miami never left. He remains one of the better run-after-catch tight ends in football, a red-zone threat with a knack for winning contested throws, and a willing, capable blocker who does not tip the defense off based on personnel groupings. The 2024 version of Smith — the one who shredded defenses after the catch for the Dolphins — may no longer exist at 31, but that is not the bar Green Bay is asking him to clear. As a No. 2 tight end on a one-year deal, he just needs to be a reliable outlet for Love on third down, a threat on play-action, and a steadying veteran presence for a young room. The bar is low, and the ceiling is a second tight end who produces like a starting-caliber receiver.
Fantasy and Betting Angles
For fantasy managers, little changes at the top of the depth chart: Kraft remains the TE1 in Green Bay and should see the bulk of the targets. Smith becomes a late-round depth dart and a priority waiver add if Kraft ever misses time, and his value spikes in leagues that reward tight end premium. For bettors, the signing is a quiet signal about the Packers' offensive intentions. Expect Green Bay to lean into heavier personnel packages, which historically boosts rushing efficiency and opens up Love's play-action windows. Watch early-season usage closely: if LaFleur starts mixing 12 personnel at a high rate, Smith's snap count — and his anytime-touchdown and receiving-yard props — will climb fast, and Green Bay's team totals may start looking more attractive against light boxes.
The Bottom Line
This is the kind of signing contenders make in late August: no long-term commitment, no cap damage, and a clear upgrade to the depth chart. If Smith recaptures even a fraction of his 2024 form, the Packers just added a difference-maker for the NFC stretch run at a bargain price. If the Pittsburgh version shows up, Green Bay is out almost nothing. Either way, the NFC North just got a little more interesting, and Jordan Love has one more weapon to work with when the games start counting.
Lauren Mitchell
Lauren Mitchell covers sports with a focus on roster movement, coaching trends, player development, and the bigger storylines behind each matchup.