The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ALSO INSIDE
Quarterback Ryan, receiver Jones give Smith some optimism.
As Buffalo’s offense evolved and young quarterback Josh Allen continued to develop, there was less of a need for the bone-rattling blocking tight end.
Lee Smith was traded to the Falcons for a seventh-round draft pick March 17. It was hard leaving a team that was in the AFC Championship game last season and coming to the last-place team in the NFC South with a rookie head coach.
“Our offense had moved to
C8 the four-wide world,” Smith said Wednesday. “Stefon Diggs and Cole Beasley are a lot better at football than Lee Smith.”
Smith, 33, considered retiring but was fine with coming to the Falcons, in part because of veteran quarterback Matt Ryan.
“I don’t look at it as a no-hope rebuild,” said Smith, a blocking tight end who’s about to enter his
11th season in the NFL. “Not with the talent on this roster and the success that they’ve had with so many of the same guys that are still on this roster.”
Smith, who’s 6 feet 6 and 265 pounds, was a fifth-round pick (159th overall) by the Patriots in the 2011 draft. He went on to carve out a niche in the NFL with his blocking. He’s caught only 64 passes over 10 seasons.
“I guess the rebuilding thing for me starts at the quarterback,” Smith said. “I’ve been doing this long enough to know that without a quarterback, it’s going to be a long year. So I guess my thing is if I can walk into a locker room with Matt Ryan and Julio Jones, it (doesn’t) really matter who else you put around them, if you do things the right way, you can probably score on offense.”
“Obviously, it’s not a two-man show,” Smith said. “We all have to be in this thing together. But rebuilding around elite potential Hall of Fame talent that has decades of experience in this league, that have experience playing in (a) Super Bowl, that’s a little different of a rebuild so to speak.”
Falcons coach Arthur Smith had four tight ends play more than 200 snaps last season when he was offensive coordinator with Tennessee. The tight ends helped with the run blocking and in pass protection.
Lee Smith knows his role. “I’ll put my hand in the dirt right beside the tackle and get in a phone-booth fight,” Smith said. “That’s kind of my deal.”
The newfangled Bills offense flexed Smith outside a couple of times last season, and he was not happy. “I’d much rather be wrestling in a phone booth with somebody my size than having a little 200-pound submarine missile diving at my kneecaps all damn day long,” Smith said.
Last week, Lee Smith and his wife drove from Knoxville, Tennessee, to have dinner with Ryan in Buckhead.
“Was just kind of asking him what he needed from me,” Smith said. “He shows up in a ... Cashmere sweater and a gold Rolex. He’s a little different breed than me to say the least. But he’s a super awesome guy. Just getting to hang out with him and just to see how excited he was just about life.”
Smith, who is from Powell, Tennessee, played at Tennessee and Marshall. He played in 10 games and made two starts last season for the Bills. He caught six passes for 35 yards and two touchdowns. Smith 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, who was the third tight end last season, became an unrestricted free agent.
“At this point in my career, I would have shut it down and started coaching at the local high school before I would have joined another team I didn’t believe in,” Smith said. “That’s just the truth. I feel super blessed to be in this situation.”
“I’m fired up. Everybody that I’ve called from Patrick Dimarco to Bruce Irvin to my dinner with Matt Ryan last week, they just raved about the organization.”