The Falcons acquired veteran tight end Lee Smith in a trade for a late-round 2022 draft pick from the Bills on Tuesday, according to ESPN.
The Falcons would not confirm the trade and noted that NFL trades can’t be official until the new league year starts at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Lee, 33, played at Tennessee and Marshall. He was drafted in the fifth round (159th overall) by New England in 2011.
Lee, 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds, is a blocking tight end. He has 64 catches for 458 yards and 10 touchdowns over his career. He played in 10 games and made two starts last season for the Bills. He caught six passes for 35 yards and two touchdowns.
He has played with Buffalo (2011-14, 2019-20) and with Oakland (2015-18).
The Falcons currently have two tight ends on the roster in Hayden Hurst and Jaeden Graham. Luke Stocker was the third tight end last season, but he is set to become an unrestricted free agent Wednesday.
Falcons coach Arthur Smith, who was Tennessee’s offensive coordinator last season, had four tight ends with at least 200 offensive snaps in their run-heavy attack that featured running back Derrick Henry.
Jonnu Smith played 719 snaps (69.9%), Geoff Swaim played 339 (33%), Anthony Firkser played 328 (31.9%) and MyCole Pruitt played 251 (24.4%) were Smith’s tight ends in 2020.
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