Jonnu Smith being traded to the Atlanta Falcons took New England Patriots fans by surprise on Monday morning.
However, the feelings surrounding the trade have clearly been mixed.
There’s one group that’s obviously happy to move on from a struggling player that was set to have the second-highest salary cap hit on the entire roster for the 2023 season. So it’s understandable how a salary cap dump, along with the team gaining a seventh-round draft pick, could feel like a win for the Patriots.
And then there’s the other group.
That bunch isn’t happy that a once promising playmaker has amounted to little more than a seventh-round draft pick and $12.8 million in dead money. How did the Patriots manage to fail on offense with both Smith and Hunter Henry on the field together?
Perhaps the two sides can come to a happy medium if the team uses the extra space to make a significant splash in free agency. Here’s what people are saying about Smith being traded to the Falcons.