Report: Patriots trade tight end Jonnu Smith to Falcons for 7th-round draft pick

The New England Patriots opened free agency week with a bang. Tight end Jonnu Smith has been traded to the Atlanta Falcons, as first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

The Patriots are getting a seventh-round draft pick back in return.

Smith, 27, originally arrived in New England as part of the team’s free agency spending spree in 2021. Signing a four-year, $50 million contract, he was expected to play a prominent role in the team’s offense.

However, that never materialized. In his two seasons as a Patriot, Smith appeared in 31 games and caught just 55 passes for 539 yards and a single touchdown. He never quite found his footing with the club, and effectively spent both seasons as the No. 2 tight end behind fellow 2021 free agency addition Hunter Henry.

Now, only Henry remains out of the two. Smith, meanwhile, is headed to Atlanta and will take the remaining two years of his contract with him.

For the Patriots, trading him adds roughly $3.6 million to the salary cap. However, the move also creates a dead money charge of $12.8 million.