**Are the Steelers serious about Jonnu Smith this time or not?**
The Steelers are back in conversation about TE Jonnu Smith, Adam Schefter reports, this time following a tight end injury. But, and no offense to him, that tight end is Donald Parham Jr., who is likely to miss the entire season. The thing is, Parham was very much a fringe roster candidate in the first place.
If the Steelers were to trade for Jonnu Smith, that would not be a proportional reaction to losing a TE4. Parham, at best, might have served as the team’s third tight end, behind Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington.
In contrast, Jonnu Smith would be jockeying for targets with Freiermuth as the Steelers’ top receiving tight end. Smith earned a Pro Bowl last season, catching eight touchdowns for 884 yards on 88 catches. The Steelers just don’t see those sorts of numbers from the tight end position.
Granted, that was a career year from Smith, who spent most of his career playing under current Steelers OC Arthur Smith. The coach connection has always lent an air of authenticity to this conversation, even if that air is hot. But now that it’s circulating yet again—is there anything to it?
It is perhaps notable that the Jonnu Smith talk still isn’t coming from the Steelers’ beat writers. You have the major newspaper outlets merely relaying Schefter’s report, indicating they’re not hearing this from their own sources. Is this just Drew Rosenhaus ghostwriting Schefter’s Tweets?
The thing is, yeah, he is coming off a career year. He is in a contract year. Chances are Jonnu Smith isn’t hearing the numbers he and Rosenhaus want, so, hey, the Dolphins let them call up the Steelers and feel out their market.
Or maybe—just maybe—the Steelers really want Smith? Now, in a vacuum, surely they would love to have him. Arthur Smith alone would probably pound the table to bring him in, having worked with him in two cities in three different roles. He brought MyCole Pruitt with him to three cities, so why not Jonnu?
But in order for the Steelers to acquire Smith, they would have to expend draft capital. They would have to sign him to a new contract, which, now nearly 30, is likely to see diminishing returns sooner rather than later. So is this a smart investment, and do the Steelers see it that way? One thing to his credit is he’s generally stayed healthy, so that helps ease concerns about signing an aging player.
_The Steelers are rebuilding, or reloading, whatever they feel the need to call it, after another disappointment last season. Though they limped into the playoffs, they once again embarrassed themselves therein._
_Just like last year, the biggest question hanging over the Steelers is_ [_the quarterback question_](https://steelersdepot.com/2025/04/schrager-thinks-steelers-passing-on-qb-in-1st-round-means-theyre-all-in-on-aaron-rodgers/)_. While they ultimately traded George Pickens, they have other decisions to make. The_ [_2025 NFL Draft class_](https://www.steelers.com/draft/) _is now behind us, so most of the roster construction is complete._
_But we still have a long offseason ahead for Steelers football, or football in shorts. Certain will-he-or-won’t-he situations remain in play, which we continue to monitor. Now it’s about evaluating the roster in place and filling holes as we go._