Falcons sign former XFL tight end Khari Lee to contract

Khari Lee, who most recently played for the DC Defenders of the XFL, followed in the footsteps of PJ Walker, DeMarquis Gates and Cavon Walker by signing an NFL contract. Atlanta now has four tight ends on its roster.

The Falcons are bringing in their first former XFL player.

Khari Lee, a four-year NFL veteran who played for the DC Defenders in 2020, signed with Atlanta on Wednesday. The tight end agreed to a one-year deal, for which the monetary terms have not yet been announced.

Lee, 28, is the fourth former player to go from the rebooted XFL to the NFL.

He grabbed eight catches for 91 yards and two touchdowns for DC before the XFL season ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this month.

a big athletic tight end who can move 😤 pic.twitter.com/2dMnObXPrJ

— D.C. Defenders (@XFLDefenders) March 25, 2020

He has spent time on four NFL rosters — Houston, Chicago, Detroit and Buffalo. His best year, 2015, came as an undrafted rookie in Chicago, when he started seven games and caught one pass for seven yards. He last appeared in the NFL in 2018 for the Bills.

While out of football, he obtained his real estate license and started selling.

“I liked selling real estate,” Lee told the Washington Times in February. “But it’s a different life when you have a regular day-to-day job. I don’t think you can ever fully be prepared for life without football until you know you are done. And I wasn’t done. I’ve been playing football since I was seven years old.”

After trading for tight end Hayden Hurst last week, the Falcons won’t rely on Lee for much more than positional depth. They lost last season’s starter, Austin Hooper, to free agency last week and cut Hooper’s backup, Luke Stocker, the same day.

Carson Meier and Jaeden Graham join Hurst and Lee to round out Atlanta’s tight end roster at the moment.