The Patriots today announced the acquisition of veteran tight end Alex Smith from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for an undisclosed selection in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Smith, 26, is a veteran of four NFL seasons with the Buccaneers (2005-08). The 6-foot-4-inch, 258-pound tight end was selected by Tampa in the third round (71st overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft out of Stanford. In four seasons with Tampa Bay, Smith played in 58 games with 43 starts and caught 129 passes for 1,252 yards (9.7 avg.) and 11 touchdowns. Last season, Smith played in 14 games with 12 starts and caught 21 passes for 250 yards (11.9 avg.) and three touchdowns.

At the moment, he becomes the sixth tight end on the roster, joining Chris Baker, Benjamin Watson, Dave Thomas, Tyson DeVree and Brad Listorti.

Newstex ID: YB-3537-34568611