Tua Made Big Push to Keep Jonnu Smith in Miami

When trade rumors around former Miami Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith started to circulate, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa didn’t mince words — he wanted Jonnu to stay with the Dolphins.

Obviously, that didn’t happen. Tua spoke to the media Wednesday for the first time since the trade that sent Smith and cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the Steelers in exchange for Minkah Fitzpatrick.

The Dolphins quarterback made it clear he did everything he could to keep Smith in South Florida.

“Throughout that entire process, I was talking to Jonnu,” Tua said. “I was trying to figure things out the same way he was trying to figure out things through his agent. Then I would also be talking to Chris (Grier) and whatnot. At the end of the day, I can’t’ do anything about it. He did all he could to put himself in the position to go up to the team, negotiate, make all the money he needed to make to help set up his family.

“We talked about it, and when he got traded, I messaged with him. We talked for a little bit. That’s my boy. I love Jonnu. That’s how the league works, and that won’t change the relationship I have with him.”

Tua wanting Smith to stick around isn’t new information, but his comments from Wednesday do show just how far he was willing to go to make that happen. He even spoke to general manager Chris Grier about it.

The two’s bond is clear, and it’s one of several reasons that Smith had the best year of his career in 2024. He even ended up breaking the franchise record for catches and yards by a tight end.

Despite all of that, it wasn’t enough to keep the Dolphins from moving Smith to Pittsburgh.

What Happened With Smith?

The interesting aspect of the Smith trade is the significant momentum that existed for him to stay.

Tua was advocating for it in public and behind closed doors. Coach Mike McDaniel said he didn’t think the team would begin the season without him during mandatory minicamp. Plus, Smith’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, stated that Smith had expressed his desire to stay in Miami many times.

Rosenhaus said the Dolphins “made the decision they were not going to do a new deal for Jonnu and allowed him to seek a trade instead of forcing him to play out the last year of his deal” during his weekly TV appearance on WSVN 7’s Sports Xtra following the trade.

Talented players getting traded during a contract dispute is fairly common. However, those situations rarely — if ever — feature the team’s franchise quarterback, head coach, and the player’s agent publicly declaring they want to remain together.

Usually, the player in a contract dispute is out on an island, and franchise quarterbacks have received a lot more of a say in team-building decisions over the years.

We should be clear, just because it’s a bit odd that Smith had so much support to stay with the Dolphins doesn’t mean Miami was out of line for trading him.

He wanted a new deal, which he earned with his play last season, but the Dolphins weren’t in the best position to pay him. Smith’s new contract with the Steelers has an average annual value of $8 million with roughly $7.74 million guaranteed.

The Dolphins were slated to pay him roughly $4 million this season with zero money guaranteed. Miami made a clear pivot from handing out extensions to older players this offseason, so it’s not surprising it balked at paying Smith top-10 tight end money.

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