The Green Bay Packers didn’t make a splashy headline move when they finalized their first 53-man roster, but one of the more interesting additions came in quietly: free agent tight end Jonnu Smith.
With backup Luke Musgrave injured to start the 2026 season, Smith gives Green Bay a deeper option at a spot that needed help. The move also feels like more than just insurance. Musgrave was pushed into a bigger role a season ago and did not come close to meeting expectations, so the Packers may have found an upgrade they should have made sooner.
Smith arrives with a mixed recent résumé. His last season with the Pittsburgh Steelers was a rough one, producing only 222 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
But the bigger picture is more encouraging. Before that, he posted 884 receiving yards with the Miami Dolphins and 582 with the Atlanta Falcons over the previous two seasons.
That’s not to say Green Bay should expect a huge statistical explosion. Tucker Kraft is clearly the top tight end on the roster. Still, Smith looks like the kind of complementary piece who can chip in with 300-400 yards and deliver a few timely plays along the way.
Jordan Love should have no trouble finding him. Love likes working the tight end position, and Smith brings the kind of versatility that makes life easier for a quarterback.
He can line up inside or out at receiver, and he has enough quickness to create problems in different spots. That gives Matt LaFleur another piece to work with in an offense that has never been shy about creativity.
And Smith isn’t the only reason for optimism in Green Bay’s pass-catching group. Kraft and Christian Watson will draw plenty of attention, while Jayden Reed and Matthew Golden add to the feeling that this offense has more than enough playmakers to make noise in 2026.
The Packers quietly added a useful weapon here, and it could matter. Smith has already shown he can produce even in less talented situations, and now he joins a roster that should give him chances to make a handful of big plays for a team expecting plenty from Love.
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Packers Practice Squad Move Hints At A Bigger Offensive Plan
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For a team continuing to shape both its roster and its scheme, the addition is more than simple depth. Green Bay has been piecing together personnel that makes sense for what it wants to do on offense, and Bankstons fit in that system is hard to miss. Whether the move is mostly about competition, development, or something bigger in the playbook, it adds another clue about the direction the Packers are heading. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Rookie Trust Will Be Tested Right Away Against The Vikings
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J. Michael Sturdivant is part of that picture after making the initial 53-man roster as an undrafted rookie wide receiver, but his immediate role against Minnesota is expected to be limited. Even so, his presence on the roster underscores how much the Packers are leaning on unproven talent right out of the gate, with the opener offering an early look at which rookies are ready when the stakes rise. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Have An Early Opportunity Fans Couldn't Count On Last Year
The Packers are heading into 2026 with something they did not always have a year ago: a healthier roster and a better chance to settle in before the schedule tightens. Most of the group has been on the field in practice ahead of Week 1, with Warren Brinson and Micah Parsons among the few exceptions as Parsons continues his recovery from injury. That alone gives Green Bay a different kind of runway entering the season, especially compared with the constant juggling act of the previous year.
The early slate also looks more forgiving than what this team has had to navigate in other seasons, and that matters for a club trying to build momentum quickly. When the offense under Matt LaFleur and Jordan Love has had its core available, it has shown a steadier level of play, which is part of why there is some quiet confidence around this group. If the Packers can take advantage of this opening stretch, they could spend a lot less time surviving and a lot more time proving they belong in the conversation. [Read more 🡒]