Jonnu Smith skips Dolphins mandatory minicamp.... Is a surprise trade in the offing?

It’s just about that time of year. OTAs and mandatory minicamps give us our first taste of the new NFL season. Coaches reunite with their veterans, and get a first look at their new players as excitement rings around the training ground.

Smith a no show for minicamp

There is also the business side of things, and that is not so exciting for coaches, GMs or even players who might be looking for a way out of town or a new contract. That seems to be the case in Miami as the Dolphins and their tight end Jonny Smith continue to be at odds in an ugly contract dispute currently going on in South Beach.

Smith is deciding to skip out on mandatory mini camp which started on Tuesday morning and will go until Thursday. Coach Mike McDaniel chimed in on the situation before minicamp got underway. “You will not see Jonnu on the field today, or this week,” McDaniel said. “That’s something that we’ve been in communication with and I don’t really need to get into personal matters. I’m not really hiding anything, it’s just not about today and I’m better suited to answer questions about that.”

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Smith is heading into the second year of a two year, $8.4 million deal and is coming off a solid season in which he reeled in 88 catches for 884 yards and 8 TDs. Smith was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in 2017, and after time in Nashville and New England came to Miami, had a career season and was the only Dolphins Pro Bowler.

There are talks of a trade, talks of a holdout, and talks of a contract extension. It’s going to be a waiting game, which could get expensive for Smith seeing as he gets fined for everyday he skips minicamp. Coach McDaniel has expressed his interest in keeping Miami’s top TE, and that is not much interest in trading him, but there is a long way to go between now and the start of the season.