Falcons Release Arthur Smith Connected TE Jonnu Smith

The Atlanta Falcons are releasing tight end Jonnu Smith, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Smith came over from the New England Patriots in a trade during the 2023 offseason in exchange for a seventh-round pick. During his time in both Tennessee and Atlanta, Jonnu Smith has rooted himself deep into the Arthur Smith offense. The Pittsburgh Steelers could now be a landing spot to watch.

Last season, Jonnu Smith racked up 582 yards on 50 catches and three touchdowns. But over his time with the Titans, Jonnu Smith became a weapon. He broke out in 2019 and 2020 under Arthur Smith, amassing over 900 combined yards during those seasons. Those stats dipped once he went to New England, but he had his best season last year statistically.

And when Smith was let go by the Falcons, Jonnu had only good things to say about Arthur Smith, the coach.

What’s making this thing a lot easier is he’ll be just fine,” Smith told reporters in Atlanta, via Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Knowing his resilience and the kind of man he is, he’ll bounce back. He’ll be back where he should be in no time. … He’s just a hell of a person, man. I don’t know how many interviews I did about Art, but truly, I can’t do enough.”

That’s strong praise from a player who naturally does not have to give Arthur Smith that much credit after he got removed as Falcons head coach. But he did anyways, and it would not be a surprise if the Steelers made a move to go out and land him.

For one, the offense is tight end-centric first before anything else. Second, while the team does not definitively need a tight end, if a good player wants to join the team, it’s hard to turn them away. And Smith has flourished into a nice weapon in the NFL, and could work well within the confines of Pittsburgh’s offense.