Former Titans’ TE Jonnu Smith reached agreement with the Patriots on a 4–year, $50 million deals that includes $31.25 million fully guaranteed, @DrewJRosenhaus told ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 15, 2021
Former Tennessee Titans tight end Jonnu Smith has reportedly found a new home in free agency, as he has agreed to terms with the New England Patriots.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Smith will sign a four-year, $50 million deal when players are allowed to officially ink their contracts on March 17.
The Pats are giving Smith a whopping $31.25 million guaranteed, and the annual average salary works out to $12.5 million per year.
Per Over the Cap, at the time of this writing Smith’s annual average ranks third in the NFL among tight ends, behind only the San Francisco 49ers’ George Kittle (No. 1) and the Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce (No. 2).
Earlier in the day, ESPN’s Dianna Russini reported that the Titans wouldn’t be re-signing Smith, instead allowing him to walk in free agency — and now we can see why.
While we expected Smith to do well in free agency, that was far more than we expected. Spotrac had Smith’s estimated market value at a deal worth around $8 million per season, which we thought was too much for a cash-strapped team like the Titans to afford.
After seeing this deal, the blow of letting Smith leave in free agency is softened, and then some.
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