UPDATE: Panthers Traded Andre Smith to Bills for 2023 Draft Pick
Early Monday morning, the Carolina Panthers announced that the team had waived third year LB Andre Smith. However, the Panthers actually dealt Smith to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for a conditional 7th round draft pick in 2023. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network was first to report.
It’s for a conditional 7th round pick in 2023. https://t.co/xUZhp4NfQJ
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 31, 2020
Clearly getting a draft pick in return for Smith is much better than just letting him walk. As surprising as it was that the Panthers were willing to part ways with him, it's even more surprising that they were able to find a trade partner for him.
He has very little impact to the defensive side of the ball, but does have special teams value. What makes this move even more intriguing is that Andre Smith was the draft selection the Panthers used from the Kelvin Benjamin trade, as Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic noted.
LB Andre Smith was the 7th round pick the Panthers used in 2018 after acquiring it from the #Bills in the Kelvin Benjamin trade. https://t.co/3HUwpcze7Q
— Joe Buscaglia (@JoeBuscaglia) August 31, 2020
The Panthers roster currently sits at 79 players and Rhule told reporters this afternoon that the team will fill that spot to get back up to 80.
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