Are the Dolphins about to part ways with Jonnu Smith?

[Downunder Dolphan]

https://www.si.com/nfl/dolphins/news/report-dolphins-in-trade-discussions-with-another-pro-bowl-player-01jwepy9w0q4

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/dolphins-pro-bowl-te-jonnu-smith-subject-of-trade-discussions-with-steelers-per-report/


This has come as a bit of a shock. After the first year of his contract, it looks like Smith is already asking for a hefty raise, and the Dolphins are understandably not thrilled about it.

The real kicker is the rumor that they are looking at a possible trade with the Steelers. Do they think they can get a decent draft pick in return, or are they just tired of the mercenary attitude of money, money, money after one good year that has crept back into the team culture?

[Spider-Dan]

I can't begrudge any player who thinks he should get a raise after outplaying his contract.  These teams have no problem cutting your ass if you underperform; ask Xavien Howard, Russell Wilson, or JC Jackson.

[Downunder Dolphan]

We clearly had no idea something like this was going to happen. In a draft deep at the TE position, we did not draft even one.

Smith did a whole lot of not much with the two other teams he played for the previous seven years, which is why he wound up at Miami at a discount rate. He finally had a season worthy of a (substitute) Pro Bowl call-up, and after the draft has passed he now thinks he can hold the team to ransom? That's knowing full well that we just don't have the cap room to deal with another jumbo shrimp who overvalues themselves.

He can play out his contract this year, and then piss off as far as I'm concerned. If the Steelers want to overpay him, they can cough up a damn good draft pick to compensate us.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

We clearly had no idea something like this was going to happen.

Grier is an idiot then. 

Dolphins didn't extend him before the draft thinking they could draft a cheaper option.  Then once the draft was over Smith wasn't willing to extend for a discounted rate. 

Dolphins shouldn't trade him for less than a third, if he has another good year they can let him walk and get a 2027 comp pick. 

[CF DolFan]

I don't think Jonnu wants to leave but it's pretty common to ask for money when you have leverage just as the teams do when they ask some players to take a pay cut. It's a business at the end of the day.

Don't be surprised if Sieler asks for more money as well. No Dolphin DT has ever had more than 10 sacks and Sieler has done it the last 2 years. Even without a ridiculous Wilkins contract (27.5 mill a year) he is making less than half of what he should. He has the most sacks by any DT over the last 2 years and his pay is at #29th in the league.  

[CF DolFan]

Sieler hasn't been in camp for the last 2 weeks and Drew is his agent as well.  Hopefully they come up with some kind money after Ramsey leaves.

[Downunder Dolphan]

The agent for Miami Dolphins Pro Bowl tight end Jonnu Smith would not commit to the player attending the mandatory minicamp which begins on Tuesday.

https://www.si.com/nfl/dolphins/news/another-player-might-skip-mandatory-minicamp-01jx9x8xawkz

Not a good sign. For a guy who criticized players being late to meetings and practices last season, this reeks of hypocrisy.

If he wants a pay rise and contract extension, show up and earn it.

Like Sieler, he's contracted and he has a job to do. The time to do this will be during, or at the end of the season when it's likely that Ramsey is long gone, and Hill is at least halfway (if not totally) out the door, and then we know what extra cap space we have to come up with some numbers. They should also have enough form to justify this as well.

[CF DolFan]

^^^^this is actually quite normal. Players hold out all the time, especially if they have some leverage. The team doesn't have an issue with asking players to take a pay cut when they underperform their contract and this is just the same thing from the players perspective. Once training camp begins, they will show up with an injury until something is worked out.

As fans is hard for us to recognize this as a business but it is. Money is much different than the days of when guys would show up for fear of the coach.

[masterfins]

We clearly had no idea something like this was going to happen. In a draft deep at the TE position, we did not draft even one.

Not necessarily.  Miami had several positions that needed filling.  What player did Miami draft that you would throw back, and what TE was available at that spot to draft?  TE has not been a position to throw the ball to under McDaniels' system, so why draft one?  There will be some TE's available after preseason ends that Miami can pickup to use as blockers, which is mainly what McDaniels wants to use them for.

[Downunder Dolphan]

Not necessarily.  Miami had several positions that needed filling.  What player did Miami draft that you would throw back, and what TE was available at that spot to draft?  TE has not been a position to throw the ball to under McDaniels' system, so why draft one?  There will be some TE's available after preseason ends that Miami can pickup to use as blockers, which is mainly what McDaniels wants to use them for.

I still think we were blindsided by Smith asking for more money - probably a lot, and probably all guaranteed.

Logically, you would think our first reaction should be to say that he's currently under contract, he's a required player for 2025, and that we will work out a deal to reflect his Pro-Bowl (alternate) caliber season once other important trades (Ramsey) have been worked out. That didn't happen. The first thing we did was contact the Steelers about a possible trade.

If we had any suspicion before the draft he'd be leaving, do you think we would have traded away our picks to move up in the second and leave nothing until the fifth round? I know Grier has copped a lot of flak recently for trading away future picks, but it would have made more sense considering we would get a compensatory pick for Holland plus another (hopefully) high pick from the Steelers for Smith in the next draft to do it this time.

I get that first priorities were DT and OL (as well as defensive secondary), but trading away picks this year and not picking up anyone at the TE position is another sign to me that we had absolutely no clue Smith was going to do this. We signed Pharaoh Brown as a replacement for Smythe, not Smith. If we had any thought of trading Smith before the draft, we would have done something else.

[Phishfan]

Not necessarily.  Miami had several positions that needed filling.  What player did Miami draft that you would throw back, and what TE was available at that spot to draft?  TE has not been a position to throw the ball to under McDaniels' system, so why draft one?  There will be some TE's available after preseason ends that Miami can pickup to use as blockers, which is mainly what McDaniels wants to use them for.

I think it's popular to say McDaniel's system doesn't throw to the TE but I'm not sure it's factual. After all we are discussing it because Smith caught 88 balls last year. That doesn't happen if a system neglected the TE. Granted we didn't throw the ball to Gisiki like that but we really don't know the reason. Kittle's one year with McDaniel as the OC resulted in a 71 catch season so in his four years of play calling it looks split.

[Dave Gray]

I think it's popular to say McDaniel's system doesn't throw to the TE but I'm not sure it's factual. After all we are discussing it because Smith caught 88 balls last year. That doesn't happen if a system neglected the TE.

It was true prior to last year, though.  Things can change, of course, but we weren't using Gesicki in a pass-catching capacity and even when we were, it wasn't effectively.  Last year, Jonnu was a critical part of our designed offense.

With Gesicki, I always felt like, at best, with the way the team was playing, he was gonna be the 4th best option.  You'd rather have the ball in Tyreek, Waddle, or a pass-catching RB's hands before the TE -- but since teams adapted to our receivers, Jonnu became much more open in the middle and we took advantage.

[Downunder Dolphan]

It was true prior to last year, though.  Things can change, of course, but we weren't using Gesicki in a pass-catching capacity and even when we were, it wasn't effectively.  Last year, Jonnu was a critical part of our designed offense.

With Gesicki, I always felt like, at best, with the way the team was playing, he was gonna be the 4th best option.  You'd rather have the ball in Tyreek, Waddle, or a pass-catching RB's hands before the TE -- but since teams adapted to our receivers, Jonnu became much more open in the middle and we took advantage.

It's up for argument if that was really by design, or not? Were we trying to sustain drives and control the clock last season by this method, or...

A big part of this was because Tyreek and Waddle just couldn't get open. We couldn't run the ball as effectively either. So maybe by default and not by design, throwing to the TE became more of a thing last season?

When Tyreek came into the team, Gesicki became a pure afterthought. We just didn't throw to his position, no matter how open he got. He didn't block enough, and was let go... and a couple of years later, we just happen to be back throwing to his old position again.

I still don't think this was/is part of McDaniel's master plan, because he never really took advantage of it beforehand.

[Phishfan]

^^^ As I pointed out previously McDaniel is 50-50 in his four years play calling. Kittle caught 77 balls in 14 games his one year with him.

[CF DolFan]

Reports are saying Jonnu is going with Ramsey to Pittsburgh.