The Pittsburgh Steelers cut tight end Jonnu Smith, making their first major personnel move ahead of free agency. The decision isn’t a surprise and upon closer inspection reveals more about ” the other Mr. Smith,” Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and his 2025 offense than it does about Jonnu.
Jonnu Smith with 1 of his 3 catches. Photo Credit: Alyssa Rubin, Steelers.com
But cutting Jonnu Smith does save them 7 million dollars against the salary cap and while the Steelers aren’t strapped for space, more is better than less.
Jonnu Smith arrived in Pittsburgh last June as part of the blockbuster trade that sent Minkah Fitzpatrick to Miami in return for Smith and Jalen Ramsey.
And Smith came in on a hot streak. He’d logged 50 catches in 2023 for Atlanta, doubling his 2022 total. In 2025 he played for the Miami Dolphins where he hauled in 88 catches, including 8 touchdowns.
With no true number 2 wide receiver to pair with D.K. Metcalf, Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin hoped they could Jonnu Smith would fill the void. Alas he could not.
Pat Freiermuth stiff arms Jordan Battle en route to the end zone. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review
Perhaps most tellingly, the loss to the Bengals was the only game an Arthur Smith led tight-end-centric Steelers offense seemed to be viable concept, Jonnu Smith had 3 catches for 28 yards and was clearly outplayed by Pat Freiermuth who had 111 yards and 2 touchdowns.
- One would figure that Arthur Smith would feature Pat Freiermuth more after that.
Alas, he did not.
By a hair, Jonnu Smith actually had a higher snap count that Freiermuth, despite the fact that Freiermuth more touchdowns, a better catch rate and higher success rate that Smith.
And that brings into focus the biggest quibble about former Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s brief tenure in Pittsburgh: He tended to favor his former players.
Jonnu Smith played for Arthur Smith both in Tennessee and at Atlanta. A year ago, MyCole Pruitt got playing time at the expense of Connor Heyward, despite the fact that Heyward out performed Pruitt – although the sample size is much smaller than the one for the Smith-Freiermuth comparison.
This is how Alan Saunders at SteelersNow described the dynamic after criticizing Omar Khan for acquiring Jonnu:
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.
Saunders may be being a little harsh – the Steelers could have and should have found ways to get the ball into Freiermuth’s hands more frequently, but there were a lot of other things ailing the offense.
But in 2024 it seemed like Smith’s favoritism of Pruitt over Heyward suggested he had a blind spot when it came to favoring his former players, and his reliance on Smith at the expense of Freiermuth confirmed that suspicion in 2025.
Anderson Leaves Pittsburgh with Class
The Steelers also cut vetern offensive tackle Calvin Anderson ahead of free agency, saving themselves another 2 million dollars in salary cap space.
Anderson took the high road out of Pittsburgh
Thank you to the city of Pittsburgh and Steeler nation for welcoming my family and I these last few years!
The most bittersweet part of the NFL is the communities of people you get the chance to encounter, both teammates/coaches and fanbases.
We will be Yinzers for life! 🟨⬛️👶🏿 pic.twitter.com/jztQIIRW6b
— Calvin Anderson (@THE_CONDA25) March 5, 2026
The NFL is a business. Players know that. But getting a visit from the Turk is never easy, especially when it may be your last stop.
But Anderson is handling it with class. We wish him well at his next stop or, if fate be it, in his “Life’s Work.”
