2021 NFL free agency preview: Could former FIU tight end Jonnu Smith return to Miami?
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Free agency begins March 17. Who are the best players available? And will the Dolphins make a play for them? We explore in this series of player profiles ahead of the league new year.
Jonnu Smith
Position: Tight end.
2020 team: Tennessee Titans.
2020 stats: Fifteen games (14 starts), 41 catches on 65 targets, 10.9 yards per catch, eight touchdowns, three dropped passes, 75.2 Pro Football Focus grade.
2020 salary: $2.1 million.
Market value (per Spotrac): Five years, $40 million.
Player summary: The Titans have dropped hints that they will move on from the former third-round pick out of FIU, who doubled his career touchdown output in his contract year. But Smith won’t lack for suitors. He has been linked in reports to the Seattle Seahawks, whom Sports Illustrated reported will make “an aggressive run” at Smith if he hits free agency. Smith’s value is in his versatility. He’s reliable in the passing game and in protection.
Likelihood he joins the Dolphins: Low. Here’s one scenario in which the Dolphins make a play for Smith: The high-end wide receiver market is simply too rich due to teams using the franchise tag,general manager and Chris Grier determines the better move is to sign a mid-market wide receiver and a tight end to pair with Mike Gesicki. Unlikely? Sure. But not impossible.
Quotable: “I had the same conversation at the end of the season with those guys that I had with Jack Conklin a year ago. I was like, ‘hey, you’ve done everything we’ve asked you here and we’re going to be competitive and try to keep you.’ But at the end of the day, you’re going to have a decision to make if you have suitors with other teams. And I had that same discussion with those two guys. We’ll see what we can figure out. But at the end of the day, if they choose to capitalize on free agency and the market, I wish them nothing but the best. They’ve done everything we’ve asked them to do.” — Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson on Jonnu Smith and Corey Davis.
