Patriots Get 4-Year, $50M Deal With Ex-Titans TE Jonnu Smith

Former Tennessee Titans tight end Jonnu Smith reached an agreement with the New England Patriots Monday, ESPN reports.

The four-year, $50 million deal includes $31.25 million fully guaranteed.

The $12.5 million average annual value in Smith's deal is the second most the Patriots have given to a free agent in the last 10 years, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

The Tennessee Titans drafted him out of Florida International in the third round in 2017. He has spent the last four seasons with the team.

He has yet to top 500 receiving yards in a season but caught eight touchdown passes in 2020 while also setting career highs in catches (41) and yards (448).

The Patriots entered Monday among the NFL's leaders in salary cap space. The team has been looking to address the tight end vacancy left by Rob Gronkowski.

Over the last two seasons, the Patriots have the fewest receptions (55), receiving yards (673), targets (87) and receiving touchdowns (3) from tight ends in the NFL.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said Smith is just "a really good tight end."

“He can do a lot of things: blocks well, runs well, is a good receiver," Belichick said. "I mean, hell, they played him at tailback. He looked pretty good back there. So, he’s a very athletic player, hard to tackle, catches the ball well. He’s great after the catch — probably the best in the league. I mean, I can’t imagine anybody better than him after the catch. No, he looks like a tight end to me. And a good one.”