Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Jonnu Smith at training camp on Aug. 3, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Jonnu Smith’s forgettable tenure with the Pittsburgh Steelers ended on Wednesday evening, as he was given his release by the team less than one year after he was acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Miami Dolphins, ending the tenure of one of the worst acquisitions of general manager Omar Khan.
Khan, who has had three full offseasons as the Steelers’ general manager, has done plenty of good in his time at the helm of the organization, posting three straight promising draft classes that appear to have formed the nucleus of a rebuild.
When Khan has faltered in his tenure as GM, it has largely been about the moves that he hasn’t made, and not the moves that he has. The Steelers entered each of the last two seasons with obvious weaknesses at the wide receiver and he’s been unable to forge a clear path to a new franchise quarterback.Â
Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan during practice on July 25, 2024. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
But the acquisition of Smith is the one move that he has made that turned out spectacularly poorly.
Last offseason, amid another fruitless search for a wide receiver, Khan acquired Smith along with star cornerback Jalen Ramsey in exchange for All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
The idea was that Smith, never known for his blocking prowess and coming off an 800-yard, Pro Bowl season with the Miami Dolphins, could serve as a near-receiver. The Steelers could use a two-tight end base offense, minimizing their clear weakness at wide receiver while adding a dynamic playmaker.
That never came to pass. It never even got close.
In 17 games, Smith had just 222 receiving yards, despite being targeted 54 times — the fourth-most on the team. Only Marquez Valdes-Scantling and offensive lineman Spencer Anderson had fewer than Smith’s 4.1 yards per target on the Steelers, and his inefficiency was also an outlier league-wide. He was the worst tight end in the NFL in terms of yards per target. The second-worst, Noah Gray, Kansas City’s blocking tight end, was 4.8. Brock Wright, another blocker, for Detroit, was at 4.9.
Not only was he the least-productive tight end in the NFL this season, he was one of the least-productive tight ends in recent NFL history. His 4.1 yards per target is dead last among all tight ends since 2019 with at least 50 targets, per The Score.
Since 2019, there have been 784 instances of WRs or TEs logging 50+ targets in a season.
Jonnu Smith’s 4.1 yards per target in 2025 ranked 784th of 784, dead last.
The Steelers’ fascination with him throughout the season was mind boggling.
— Daniel Valente (@StatsGuyDaniel) January 13, 2026
Smith isn’t the only player that Khan acquired that didn’t work out. Last offseason, he also signed Darius Slay as a free agent. But when Slay struggled, the Steelers benched him for special teamer James Pierre, who became a surprisingly solid starter.
When Juan Thornhill didn’t work out at free safety, the Steelers moved Ramsey there and inserted Brandin Echols into the starting lineup at slot cornerback.
Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith before a game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Dec. 1, 2024. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
But Smith kept getting the ball, right up until the end of the season, while Pat Freiermuth, the team’s $12 million starting tight end, was barely used all season. Freiermuth finished with 486 yards, the second-lowest total of his five-year career, and he was so obviously under-utilized that teams came calling Khan this offseason to see if he was available in a trade.
Thankfully, Khan finally realized his mistake. To be clear, it’s not necessarily his fault that Arthur Smith played favorites with Jonnu Smith to the point that he sabotaged his own unit’s success.Â
But the acquisition of Smith will certainly go down as the worst move Khan has made so far.
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