Patriots to Trade TE Jonnu Smith to Falcons, per Report

The reported move frees up cap space for New England ahead of free agency.

The Patriots are trading tight end Jonnu Smith to the Falcons, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. New England gets a seventh-round pick in return and the team clears some cap space ahead of free agency.  

Smith was the No. 2 tight end for the Patriots behind Hunter Henry and he appeared in 14 games this past season, starting in eight of them. He caught 27 passes for 245 yards but failed to score a touchdown. Now with the Falcons, he’ll likely be behind former first-round pick Kyle Pitts. 

The 27-year-old started his career with the Titans when he was drafted in the third round of the 2017 draft out of FIU. He quickly became a playmaker for them and his stock rose so high that he got himself a four-year, $50 million deal to sign with the Patriots in free agency back in 2021. 

According to Rapoport, Atlanta is restructuring his contract to make a more team-friendly deal. The details of this deal are unknown at this time.