As trade speculation swirls around Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith, Miami head coach Mike McDaniel said Tuesday that it isn’t a distraction.
“It’s complicated if you allow it to be. I think the good news is part of the thing that I try to stay connected to is what my job is and what people need for me. When I’m not a part of the negotiations—that’s not my role, my role is to coach, then I’m going to focus on that.
“So to be honest, it’s really not terribly complicated when I stay connected to what my purpose is and what people need from me, because anything else is time that could be best utilized elsewhere. So that’s where I’m at with it,” McDaniel said from Dolphins OTA’s.
McDaniel sounded confident that Smith wants to remain in Miami, too.
“Erroneous of my feelings, my hope—I haven’t really considered anything other than I want Jonnu on the team. I think he wants to be here, and so my experience with business is you let that play out. In that time, Jonnu is depending on me to focus on the players that I have the ability to coach and influence, so that’s where I’m at,” McDaniel said.
After a career year in which the eighth-year pro notched 88 grabs for 884 yards and eight touchdowns, Smith’s value to the Dolphins or to another NFL franchise has never been more apparent.
That’s not lost on McDaniel either.
“Jonnu is a very important player and person to me and to the guys. One thing that we can stand on is his professionalism and how he goes about his business. There’s times that business can play a part, for sure, and a team can make it as complicated as they would like.
“If they have a lot of time to focus on what’s going on with Jonnu, I would encourage them to focus on their own game. Fortunately, I haven’t had to have those conversations. Guys have been very focused on what they can do today to get better for the Miami Dolphins organization,” McDaniel said.
McDaniel said Smith has been around the team during offseason workouts but didn’t want to get into all the specifics on what his availability around the team at Miami Gardens has looked like.
“He’s been around, and beyond that I try not to—specifically in this day and age, I think the relationship and the privacy of people’s business is important to me—when dudes have social media, if they wanted you guys to know, they would holler at you,” McDaniel said.
Smith is entering the final season of a two-year, $8.4 million contract that he signed with the Dolphins in March of 2024.
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