After 4-year stint in Oakland, tight end Lee Smith shuffles back to Buffalo

Following the Raiders addition of tight end Foster Moreau in the fourth round of the draft earlier this month, the Raiders parted ways with Lee Smith. The big blocking tight end had spent his first four seasons in Buffalo before landing a free agent deal with the Raiders prior to the 2015 season. Now he is returning to Buffalo to finish his career where it started.

The 31-year-old signed a three-year deal to return to Buffalo where Bills fans will undoubtedly welcome back his hard nosed, play-through-the-whistle style.

At 6-6, 269 pounds, Smith made other tight ends look like regular sized humans when he stood near them. The was a brute of a man and he gets paid to throw that weight around on the field, tossing potential tacklers around to open holes for running backs and give his quarterback time to throw the ball.

Smith was a defender of his quarterback off the field as well as the most vocal defender of Derek Carr when Carr was receiving some harsh criticisms last season.

You won’t find a more team oriented guy than Lee Smith. He took a restructured deal prior to the 2017 season, the final season of his original 3-year deal with the Raiders. Then he was lost to injury four weeks in and re-signed to the team on a friendly 1-year deal to return last season.

The Bills and their fans are lucky to have him back.