Anthony Firkser Former Atlanta Falcons Tight End New England Patriots - Brett Davis - USA Today Sports
Atlanta Falcons News

Former Falcons TE Signs With New England Patriots

Former Atlanta Falcons tight end Anthony Firkser has a new team.

ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported on Thursday that Firkser has signed a contract with the New England Patriots. Reiss projected Firsker to compete for the team’s third tight end role behind Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki.

Firsker played one season for the Falcons in 2022. He recorded nine receptions for 100 receiving yards while playing 149 offensive snaps. He also played 1 snap on special teams.

Firsker arrived in the NFL as an undrafted free agent for the New York Jets in 2017. He also spent time with the Kansas City Chiefs before landing a regular role with the Tennessee Titans in 2018.

He became a regular contributor for the Titans, playing on offense and special teams from 2018-21. In four seasons with the Titans, Firsker registered 106 catches for 1,107 yards and 5 touchdowns.

This coming season will only be Firsker’s second year he is on an offense not involving Falcons head coach Arthur Smith.

In 2018, Smith was his tight ends coach. Smith then became Firsker’s offensive coordinator in 2019 and 2020.

Firsker reached career highs in 2020 with 39 receptions and 387 receiving yards. That was also the first season he played more than 300 offensive snaps.

In 2021 without Smith, who left Tennessee to became the Falcons head coach, he lined up for a career-best 396 offensive snaps. He played a career-high 117 special teams snaps in 2019.

On paper, the Falcons will miss Firsker’s versatility. But he was unable to carve out a significant role with the Falcons in 2022 even with Smith as his coach again and Kyle Pitts injured most of the season.

For next season, Atlanta has plenty of tight ends on the depth chart with Pitts, Jonnu Smith and Parker Hesse. Former quarterback Feleipe Franks is also listed as a tight end on the team’s official roster.