Patriots trade Jonnu Smith to Falcons to free up cap space

The Patriots sent Jonnu Smith to the Falcons to create cap space less than an hour before the legal tampering period in free agency opened.

The New England Patriots swung a deal to create cap space less than an hour before the legal tampering period in free agency opened. The Patriots traded tight end Jonnu Smith to the Atlanta Falcons for a seventh-round pick, the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Monday.

While it's only getting a seventh-round pick back in return, the big thing New England gets from this trade is cap space. The Patriots created nearly $3.7 million in cap space this offseason and a whopping $18.405 million in cap space in 2024, according to salary cap guru Miguel Benzan.

The Patriots will eat a fair amount of dead money this offseason by not having Smith on their roster. They'll eat $12.81 million in dead cap but still have roughly $34.5 million in cap space this offseason, per Benzan.

Smith was set to have a cap hit at roughly $17 million in 2023 after he restructured his contract last August to create some space ahead of the 2022 season. He joined the Patriots in 2021 as part of the team's major free-agency spending spree, receiving a four-year, $50 million deal with $31.25 million guaranteed to leave the Tennessee Titans.

But Smith was never able to put it together during his time in New England. He had 28 receptions for 294 yards and a touchdown in 2021. This past season, he had 27 receptions for 245 yards and failed to score a touchdown.

My new Patriots salary cap space number after the Jonnu Smith trade is $34,573,844 – a $3,668,529 increase. The Patriots also created $18.405M in cap space for the 2024 season.

— Miguel Benzan Patriots Cap Space is 12,198,438 (@patscap) March 13, 2023

There have been many reasons speculated as to why Smith never really produced during his time in New England. The Patriots also signed Hunter Henry in 2021, likely making it tougher for Smith to produce and the installation of Matt Patricia as the team's offensive play-caller in 2022 didn't do anyone good.

Jonnu Smith will be reunited though with former Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who is the head coach in Atlanta. Smith had a career year in his last season under the Falcons head coach, posting 41 receptions for 448 yards and eight touchdowns.