Patriots, Jonnu Smith Re-Do Contract; What Cap Space is Gained by Move?

FOXBORO — With their initial 53-man roster now set, the New England Patriots are fully turning their attention towards the 2022 NFL season.

In addition to evaluating player performance on the field, as well as scheme fit, New England also faced a need to improve their fiscal standing in order to adequately, and cost effectively, operate in the upcoming year.

Having entered Friday with just north of $3.5 million in available salary cap space, New England has reportedly agreed to a contract restructuring with tight end Jonnu Smith. According to an ESPN report, the Pats have converted $7.965 million of Smith’s 2022 base salary into a bonus. Thus, the move creates approximately $5.3 million in cap space for the upcoming season.

Per Patriots salary cap expert Miguel Benzan, the Patriots now have $8,858,607 million in available salary cap space.

While many have long speculated a financial move of this type to be in the works for New England, choosing Smith as its subject is a bit surprising. After all, the 27-year-old is about to enter the second of a four-year, $50 million contract, which he signed with the team in March 2021. While Smith’s salary becomes more manageable for this season, it adds additional financial responsibility for the Pats on the second half of the deal.

According to Benzan, Smith’s salary cap number for 2022 has been reduced to $8,381,176. However, the number increases his cap hits in both 2023 and 2024 by $2.655 million each year. Therefore, Smith’s 2023 cap number rises to $17.405 million, as well as being on the books by $18.405 million in 2024. Benzan also pointed out that the Patriots chose not to add void years during the restructure, as they also previously declined to do with that of David Andrews and Deatrich Wise, Jr.

Additionally, Benzan points out that the Patriots would absorb $19.06 million in dead money if they were to release Smith before June 2, 2023. If traded, his dead money hit would be $12.81 million.

As such, while these moves are often just about bookkeeping, it could be argued that Smith’s restructuring seems to indicate that he is viewed as an integral part of their offense. At his best, he is a prototypical ‘move’ tight end, best utilized as an effective target in the red zone. In his final season with the Tennessee Titans in 2020, he totaled 41 receptions for 448 yards and eight touchdowns. All eight of those scores came in the red zone.

Conceptually, Smith was expected to provide exactly what the Pats lacked in their 7-9 campaign in 2020: productivity and a reliable scorer at the tight end position. However, he fell short of expectations in his first year with the Patriots. He statistically underwhelmed; finishing the 2021 regular season with 28 catches, 294 receiving yards and one touchdown throughout 16 games.

Smith’s less-than-stellar stat sheet may be explained by his more prevalent usage in run protection schemes in 2021. Although he is a more than capable blocker, one would think his talents would be better utilized as an offensive scoring weapon. Yet, the Pats and quarterback Mac Jones provided fellow free-agent tight end acquisition Hunter Henry with those opportunities.

Still, Smith has earned the trust and respect of his coaches and teammates, who see a bright future ahead for him. Though his offensive numbers may have fallen short of expectations, Smith still led all tight ends in yards gained after catch per reception (8.5), according to Pro Football Focus. With one year in the Patriots system behind him, should see marked improvement in 2022. Throughout training camp and the preseason, Smith looked more comfortable in the Patriots system, while earning a greater amount of targets from his quarterbacks.

As Smith develops a greater understanding of the nuances of New England’s offense, the Patriots should incorporate more two tight-end sets into their offense. He and Henry spent only a fraction of time on the field in their first season together; just 18.6 percent of New England’s offensive snaps. A greater understanding of the Pats system should allow both Smith and Henry to complement each other in a manner which escaped them in 2021. It should also increase the amount of targets he sees in scoring situations. He may also be in line for some carries out of the backfield via the jet sweep, or as a fullback/H-Back — especially in the wake of former fullback Jakob Johnson’s joining former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels in Las Vegas.

No matter the manner in which he is used, an improved and more comfortable Jonnu Smith will only help to add another dimension to the Patriots offense this season.