GREEN BAY, Wis. — A troubling lack of depth, a star coming off a major knee injury, and a bizarre neck issue meant the Green Bay Packers needed to evaluate their tight end room before the start of the regular season.
That’s why they’re signing free-agent tight end Jonnu Smith to a one-year deal, reuniting the former third-round pick of the Tennessee Titans with Matt LaFleur. When Smith was a second-year player in the league in 2018, LaFleur was the Titans’ offensive coordinator. There’s familiarity between the two—one of the handful of reasons why this acquisition makes sense for both parties.
Tucker Kraft has been on a rep count since returning to 11-on-11 drills in practice earlier this month, but that doesn’t mean the Packers won’t still be cautious with him. Before sustaining a torn anterior cruciate ligament in last season’s Nov. 2 loss to the Carolina Panthers, Kraft was essentially the engine of the Packers’ offense; he was in the midst of what would’ve likely been an All-Pro campaign.
Matters with Luke Musgrave’s neck injury are murky. The Packers are still waiting for more tests and analysis before determining how to move forward with the former second-round pick. He hasn’t truly had a consistent, clean bill of health throughout his three-year career to this point, and even when he’s been on the field, he hasn’t been as impactful as the Packers would’ve hoped.
The range of outcomes for Musgrave varies. He could be placed on season-ending injured reserve—something that isn’t out of the realm of possibility considering he’s currently out indefinitely and neck injuries aren’t exactly black-and-white—or he could be placed on injured reserve with a designated-to-return option.
Teams are now allowed to designate up to two players to return if they’re placed on injured reserve during cut-downs.
Between Josh Whyle, Drake Dabney, Messiah Swinson, and McCallan Castles, the Packers’ depth isn’t much to write home about. In Wednesday’s joint practice with the Arizona Cardinals, Jordan Love threw a pair of interceptions downfield while targeting Whyle and Dabney. It was clear—even with Musgrave’s injury status looming—that the Packers couldn’t sit on their hands.
Enter Smith, who will now be playing for his fifth different team in as many seasons.
After four seasons with the Titans, Smith played three years in New England with the Patriots before making three different pit stops en route to Green Bay: The Atlanta Falcons in 2023, the Miami Dolphins in 2024, and the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2025. Smith was involved in the trade that sent All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey and a 2027 seventh-round selection to the Steelers in exchange for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and a 2027 fifth-round selection.
At 6’3” and 248 pounds, Smith projects similarly to Whyle as a player, but has the past production to back it up. Smith can play inline as a traditional tight end, but when he’s at his best, he’s maximized at various positions on the field, including in the backfield as an H-back. He’s just the kind of player that LaFleur could weaponize to his full potential.
Smith is just one season removed from a 2024 Pro Bowl bid with the Dolphins. Despite being on the receiving end of four different quarterbacks—Tua Tagovailoa, Tyler Huntley, Skyler Thompson, and Tim Boyle—Smith had his best season to date. He led the team with 88 receptions and eight touchdowns—even outpacing All-Pro receiver Tyreek Hill, who played in all 17 games—and accumulated a career-best 884 yards.
During that season, the versatile Smith lined up wide for 148 snaps, in the slot for 254, and spent 26 in the backfield. The year prior in Atlanta, he played nearly as many snaps in the slot (268) as he did inline (274).
He’s been productive at just about every stop throughout his nine-year career, but the 31-year-old didn’t have much of an impact catching passes from Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh last season. His 38 receptions ranked No. 5 on the team, but he managed to muster just 222 yards—a ghastly 5.8 yards per reception, which is the lowest mark of his career. The Steelers deployed him inline on a far more regular basis than the previous two stops had, with Smith playing 271 snaps as a traditional tight end, just 163 in the slot, and 87 on the perimeter.