Falcons Release TE Jonnu Smith, Save Reported $6.5M in Salary Cap Space

The Atlanta Falcons are releasing tight end Jonnu Smith, the team announced Tuesday.

ESPN's Adam Schefter first reported the news.

Smith also thanked the organization and recognized the "special locker room and special people all throughout the building."

The 28-year-old just completed his seventh NFL season and first with the Falcons after the New England Patriots traded him to Atlanta for a seventh-round draft pick last March.

Smith notched career-highs in both catches (50) and receiving yards (582) while also adding three touchdowns. His receiving yardage mark ranked third on Atlanta behind wideout Drake London (905) and fellow tight end Kyle Pitts (667).

Per Over the Cap, the Falcons will save $6.5 million in 2024 cap space while taking on $2.5 million in dead money.

From the Falcons' perspective, this feels like a renewed focus on getting the most out of Kyle Pitts, whose massive potential has never been realized in the NFL since going fourth overall in the 2021 draft. He's now the clear TE1 again with no one breathing down his neck in the tight end room.

Pitts only averaged 5.3 targets per game last season, but now he could see a big uptick in looks, especially under new leadership with first-year head coach Raheem Morris and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson.

As for what's next, one can surmise that the Pittsburgh Steelers might be interested in Smith. The Steelers' new offensive coordinator is Arthur Smith, who was Smith's tight ends coach with the Tennessee Titans (2017-2018) before becoming his OC (2019-2020).

Smith then left to become the Falcons' head coach in 2021. Two years later, they were reunited. Neither will be in Atlanta in 2024 after the coach was fired and the player was released, but seeing Smith join the tight end room alongside Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington won't be a surprise.