Rather than the reported cut of Andre Smith, the Panthers found a taker for the young linebacker. They traded him to the Bills on Monday.
Buffalo dipped into its 2023 draft to complete this deal, sending a conditional 2023 seventh-round pick to Carolina for Smith, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
While Sean McDermott and GM Brandon Beane were not with Carolina when the franchise drafted Smith, he is yet another ex-Panther to join the Bills during the duo’s Buffalo tenure. The Dolphins and Lions have received attention for adding ex-Patriots, but the Bills have submitted a tour de force 2020 in acquiring former Panthers. Prior to the Smith trade, they added Josh Norman, Mario Addison, Vernon Butler, Daryl Williams and A.J. Klein this year.
The Panthers drafted Smith in the 2018 seventh round. He saw action in 16 games last season, working almost exclusively as a special-teamer. The ex-North Carolina Tar Heel played on 65% of the Panthers’ special teams snaps and just 2% of their defensive plays last season. He made five tackles in 2019.
Among their backup linebackers, the Bills have former Steeler Tyler Matakevich and 2019 fifth-round pick Vosean Joseph on their roster. Two years remain on Smith’s rookie deal.
Low risk move with no real guarantees. With the lack of proven/quality depth at LB in Buffalo he’s not exactly out of the mix. As a Bills fan I see this as smart management by Beane and McDermott to jump the waiver process.
The link goes to the wrong Andre Smith