Month: June 2025

The Dolphins-Jonnu Smith saga keeps going. After a report indicated Miami was not expected to unload Smith, ESPN’s Adam Schefter indicates talks between the Dolphins and Steelers on the veteran tight end are back on.

Smith has expressed a desire to stay in Miami, but he is angling for a new contract. The sides have talked about a new deal, per the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson, Omar Kelly and Isiaah Smalls Jr., though it does not sound like an extension is close. While Mike McDaniel said Tuesday he wants Smith on the 2025 roster, a player who rebounded from down New England years is underpaid relative to his recent production.

“Jonnu is a very important player and person to me, and the guys,” Mike McDaniel said, via Kelly. “The thing that we can stand on is his professionalism and how he goes about his business. There are times that business can play a part, for sure. And a team can make it as complicated as they like if they have a lot of time to focus on what’s going on with Jonnu. I’d encourage them to focus on what’s going on in their game.”

Entering the second season of a two-year, $8.4MM deal, Smith is coming off an 884-yard season. As Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle‘s production decreased during a disappointing Dolphins season, Smith provided a spark. As he heads into an age-30 season, time is running short for the former Arthur Smith charge (in Tennessee and Atlanta) to capitalize on his prime form.

A Schefter report earlier today noted Smith was unlikely to be moved. A trade would certainly deal a blow to the Dolphins’ ability to complement Hill and Waddle at tight end, and as McDaniel and Chris Grier‘s seats do not appear particularly cool, dealing a quality tight end without a clear path to replacing him would be quite the risk.

Smith is staying away from the team until at least mandatory minicamp, and Kelly adds the Dolphins viewed the first of these rumors — which emerged last week — as a leverage play from Smith’s camp. That would indicate suspicion these are not genuine trade talks, though we have now heard them surface on multiple occasions. It would seem odd if that were a leverage play on the player’s side, as the Dolphins would obviously need to pull the trigger on a deal. But here we are, as this situation has now generated is approaching the Jalen Ramsey matter for update volume.

Arthur Smith could use Jonnu Smith in a Steelers offense lacking proven auxiliary playmakers, though Pat Freiermuth presently stands as the team’s top D.K. Metcalf complementary piece following the George Pickens trade. Pittsburgh also rosters Darnell Washington at tight end, making these Jonnu Smith talks rather interesting.

More to come.

The longest-tenured active NFL HC, Mike Tomlin continues to move closer to Chuck Noll‘s duration number in Pittsburgh. The four-time Super Bowl winner logged 23 seasons; Tomlin is now in Year 19. He received another extension — a three-year deal — last June.

Another season without a playoff win followed, further establishing a trend for a franchise that has settled into a sector with a historically high floor. Of course, the Steelers have not enjoyed a particularly high ceiling in many years. They have not won a playoff game since a six-field goal performance edged the Chiefs, who used that home loss as a launch point to trade up for Patrick Mahomes, in the 2016 divisional round. The Steelers are 0-5 in the postseason since.

[RELATED: Steelers Denied Bears Permission To Meet With Tomlin]

Tomlin, 53, received assurances in January — after a 10-3 start ended with five straight losses, the last a one-sided wild-card defeat in Baltimore — he would be back for a 19th season. While the Steelers have drifted into strangely desperate territory during this months-long Aaron Rodgers pursuit, the extended courtship does not indicate Tomlin is coaching for his job. On the contrary, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac indicates the accomplished HC’s seat is not particularly hot.

The dynamics of this situation have generated interest for years, as Tomlin’s popularity among Steelers fans appears to be waning — as January one-and-dones mount — while national respect remains. The Super Bowl-winning HC, of course, has never experienced a losing season in his lone HC gig. He has done well to navigate undesirable QB situations for several years, dating back to the 2019 season Ben Roethlisberger largely missed with an elbow injury that effectively ended his prime. Tomlin reaching a 10-7 mark with Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph in 2023 proved quite impressive, and the Steelers — who carried a minus-20 point differential into those playoffs — were within one score of the No. 2-seeded Bills until midway through the fourth quarter.

Famously having employed only three HCs since 1969, the Steelers give their power brokers plenty of time to operate. Kevin Colbert was in place for 23 years as Steelers GM or de facto GM, and it would stand to reason Omar Khan is not on a hot seat entering his fourth year in the role. He and Tomlin have continued to fortify a high-end defense, after the unit’s work had dipped a bit during the “Killer B’s” period, that has kept the operation afloat during this period of quarterback uncertainty. Though, the Steelers have also seen their QB situations produce undesirable results for a while.

That has led to this Rodgers waiting period. The Steelers are still banking on the 41-year-old passer to end his lengthy free agency stay and sign; Rodgers and Tomlin have been in contact during most of the offseason. As of last weekend, however, the team did not have true assurances Rodgers would ultimately commit. Rodgers has dropped hints, as he makes public appearances while not being part of the Steelers during OTAs. A prediction that a late-May signing would commence proved inaccurate.

The Steelers acquired an additional 2026 third-round pick (via the George Pickens trade), as a pursuit of a hopeful long-term QB option looms for next year, but Rodgers is the team’s main focus — to the point this pursuit is overshadowing the steady AFC North outfit’s offseason — for 2025.

The Steelers also won a playoff game in 2015, an Andy Dalton-less wild-card contest in Cincinnati marred by late Bengals penalties, but followed their Super Bowl XLV appearance with one-and-done showings in 2011 and 2014. A stretch with three postseason wins in 14 seasons is not a great look for a head coach; though, having zero losing seasons in that span certainly is. Pittsburgh has opted for stability, but it will be interesting to see if this Rodgers- or Kirk Cousins–led season changes Steelers ownership’s view of the situation. Tomlin has certainly earned the benefit of the doubt, even as frustration mounts, and a 20th season will mark the next milestone. How much longer should the team proceed in this direction?

Gabe Davis‘ free agent tour will continue this week. The veteran wideout will next meet with the Steelers, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.

Davis will fly to Pittsburgh tomorrow and visit the team on Thursday. That will mark his third known meeting with an interested team. The former Bill and Jaguar has taken a visit with the 49ers and Giants so far. Neither of those produced a deal, but in the case of at least New York, team and player have remained in contact.

With nothing imminent on either of those fronts, Davis will continue to gauge his market deep into the offseason. The 26-year-old expectedly departed Buffalo in free agency last year, but his debut campaign in Jacksonville did not go according to plan. Taking on $20MM in dead money in the process, the Jags’ new regime moved forward with a release last month (doing so with a failed physical designation).

Evaluating Davis’ knee will of course be a key aspect of his visits before signing a new deal. In the case of the Steelers, it comes as no surprise this meeting has been arranged. Pittsburgh is known to still be in the market for a pass-catching addition of some kind in the wake of the George Pickens trade. D.K. Metcalf will operate as the team’s new No. 1, with incumbents Calvin Austin and Roman Wilson in line to take on increased roles in 2025. Veteran Robert Woods has already been added via free agency, but with nearly $32MM in cap space the Steelers could easily afford another signing.

On another note, Schefter reports Pittsburgh is not expected to swing a trade for Jonnu Smith. The veteran tight end emerged as a potential target last week, and a swap sending him to the Steelers would allow for another reunion with offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. The presence of fellow tight end Pat Freiermuth for 2025 and beyond would make a Smith trade at least somewhat redundant, however. After a franchise-record campaign with the Dolphins in 2024, Smith’s preference is to remain in Miami.

With that appearing likely to be the case, Pittsburgh’s attention will return to the receiver spot in terms of adding a pass-catching presence. Depending on how this week’s visit goes, that move could turn out to be a Davis signing.

With OTAs underway, T.J. Watt has yet to work out an extension agreement with the Steelers. At least one offer appears to have been made in this case, however.

During a recent episode of the Kaboly + Mack podcast, Mark Kaboly of the Pat McAfee Show reported that a “pretty significant” extension offer has been submitted to Watt (video link). It is unclear when it was made, but the offer is on the table at this point. Without a deal being signed, though, a gap clearly still exists between team and player in this situation.

Kaboly added it is unknown whether or not the current offer outpaces the extension Myles Garrett signed with the Browns this offseason. That four-year, $160MM pact ended speculation about his future in Cleveland – which was of course driven in large part by his trade request – and reset the edge rush market. Watt was once the league’s highest earner at the position, with that being the case for the first two years of his existing contract (four years, $112MM). A raise is in store once again, although it remains to be seen if surpassing Garrett’s deal will be required.

Team and player have expressed a desire to continue their relationship beyond 2025. That led to an expectation Watt would join the list of high-profile pass rushers receiving a new deal this offseason. The former Defensive Player of the Year remains a pending 2026 free agent at this point, though. Age (30) will be a key consideration in this case. Watt has nevertheless led the NFL in sacks three times since 2020 and has earned at least second-team All-Pro honors in five of the past six seasons.

The Steelers do not have a long history of committing guaranteed money beyond the first year of an extension for non-quarterbacks. Watt’s 2021 deal (signed days before the start of the campaign) represented an exception, but it will be interesting to see how far the team is willing to go on another monster extension. The seven-time Pro Bowler saw his sack total drop to 11.5 in 2024, and he was held off the statsheet in that regard for the team’s final four games last season.

An April social media post led to increased speculation about Watt’s situation, and he is among the veterans currently skipping OTAs while extension talks take place. Pittsburgh also has the likes of Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig and – on a full-time basis starting this year – DeMarvin Leal as experienced pass rushers. Rookie Jack Sawyer will compete for a depth role in 2025, but much of the team’s success will depend on Watt’s production. That, in turn could be influenced by the nature of extension negotiations, a process which will clearly need to continue.