The Pittsburgh Steelers have been back in the headlines regarding potential trades as of late. Weeks ago, they reportedly reached out to the New Orleans Saints regarding a potential trade for Chris Olave, but those talks were quickly dispelled as the Saints don’t plan on moving their star receiver. Over the last several days, though, the Steelers have been in pursuit of Miami Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith.
In terms of what the players think of the trade, at least one doesn’t understand why it would happen. Tight end Connor Heyward was very open with his thoughts on Smith potentially coming to Pittsburgh.
“We all see it, but let’s be honest. It would be complicated having him and Pat,” Heyward tells Nick Farabaugh of PennLive. “They’re kind of the same type of tight end. They both got to have 100 balls a year thrown their way. You’ve seen that. We all have produced, me, Darnell, and Pat. If that was to happen, we’d welcome it, but at the same time, we know Pat’s our guy right now. How often we’re going to go through him, DK, Cal(vin Austin), and our running backs. Whenever me and Darnell get it, we make the most of it.
Connor Heyward was candid about a possible Jonnu Smith trade today:
“We all see it, but let’s be honest. It would be complicated having him and Pat. They’re kind of the same type of tight end…that's like having DK and George. You've got to have one.” pic.twitter.com/p3zZqxj8ZT
— Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) June 4, 2025
Heyward adds that the fans love Freiermuth.
“Pat is one of our major guys here, and not just here with the Steelers, but in the city. People aren’t just saying Muth for no reason.”
This notion is shared by many fans, wondering why the Steelers would target another tight end when a boundary receiver is what they need to complement DK Metcalf. Smith did, however, catch 88 passes a season ago, which earned him a Pro Bowl appearance.
