Buffalo Bills trade conditional pick for Carolina Panthers LB Andre Smith

The Carolina Panthers have traded linebacker Andre Smith to the Buffalo Bills, who coordinated the deal after Carolina announced their intent to waive the third-year player. Smith, a former seventh-round pick by the Panthers, joins the Bills for the price of a seventh-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Yes, that’s 2023, as in three full years down the line. The Bills were just looking to skip ahead of the waiver claim line.

Smith was picked in 2018, in the same seventh round pick that the Bills traded to the Panthers as part of their deal for Kelvin Benjamin. In his two pro seasons, he’s appeared in 19 games. Last year, Smith had five tackles playing primarily…