Since it was announced that Julian Hill suffered a season-ending injury at practice over the past month, the Patriots have been on the short list of teams likely looking to improve their tight end group ahead of the upcoming season. Because they have only Hunter Henry and rookie Eli Raridon, they need to add another veteran or risk a major offensive flaw that could harm their progress.
Among the players most linked to the team has been Jonnu Smith, who played for the Patriots in 2021 and 2022 before he was traded to the Falcons. His tenure in New England was far from what anyone hoped for, and it seemed to only confirm that Bill Belichick's main focus was to get Hunter Henry signed instead.
It was clear that Josh McDaniels and Smith were not the match made in heaven they appeared to be on paper, especially after Smith's breakout final year with the Titans in 2020.
And because he is still a free agent and he has been consistently named as the Patriots' best option to boost their tight end room, there is a lot of talk about what it would take to get him back onto the roster, but there isn't a lot of discussion about why that would be a bad idea.
Based on what we've seen, it should be fairly obvious, and hopefully, Eliot Wolf won't be too enticed by Smith's recent career to overlook all the negatives.
Jonnu Smith is not the answer to the Patriots lingering tight end issue
Looking at his most recent stints with the Falcons, Dolphins, and Steelers, Smith looks the part for what the Patriots need for their tight end roster.
Over the past three years, he's recorded 176 receptions for 1,688 yards and 13 touchdowns, with his most impressive season coming in his lone year in Miami, when he earned Pro Bowl honors for the first time in his career. He tallied 88 receptions for 884 yards and eight scores, nearly all of which were the best statistics of his nine-year career.
He appears to have hit a stride and should put him on the radar to most teams who need some offensive help, and that's exactly why he has been in the conversation for the Patriots to sign since Hill's injury.
But we've already seen that song and dance in Foxboro with McDaniels, and they don't appear to work well together, or, at least, didn't understand each other enough for Smith to be his most productive self for the team.
Whether that would remain the case if he returned is hard to say, but his previous stint with the Patriots is not much to be excited about, nor does it bring out much optimism that taking a chance on him again would ultimately be worth it.
The better route to take would be to sign or trade for a tight end that McDaniels is familiar with, like Raiders tight end Michael Mayer, or a player who fits their style more and could complement Henry in the way they need.
That should be their plan of attack moving forward, and it should be at the top of their list of priorities, either during or ahead of training camp. Otherwise, there will be some big problems with their tight ends this fall.
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