The Pittsburgh Steelers entered Monday with an established starting tight end, Pat Freiermuth.
They look like they’ll exit Monday with two.
Jonnu Smith went to the Steelers in a trade from the Dolphins, and now everything gets complicated.
Freiermuth almost surely will see a reduction in overall targets, although his playing time might not change much.
Smith is a favorite of offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, having also played for him in Atlanta and Tennessee.
If both were previously viewed as solid starting TEs in the NFL and in fantasy football, both have now gained some uncertainty as far as their roles are concerned.
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There actually might be slightly less impact than you’d think, though.
For one, Smith and Freiermuth are not the same type of player. Freiermuth is a classic, big-bodied tight end. Smith is an after-catch wizard. The Dolphins used lots of short routes, screens and gadget plays to get the ball into his hands quickly and let him run with it.
They might hurt each other in the red zone a bit, especially with DK Metcalf around, too.
But the reality is that Pittsburgh needs Smith and Freiermuth. Who’s their second-best receiver after trading George Pickens?
You can make whatever case you want, but your options are Calvin Austin, Roman Wilson and Robert Woods.
Smith and Freiermuth will still get thrown to plenty, and by future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers.
Pittsburgh may not have seen a path to a WR2, so instead they got a supremely athletic tight end in Smith to more or less fill that role. This could actually work out well for everyone.
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