With their depth along the offensive line depleted and some of their young backups yet to emerge, the New England Patriots agreed to a trade with the Atlanta Falcons for fifth-year guard Quinn Ojinnaka.
Ojinnaka passed his physical on Monday morning and the team announced the transaction shortly afterward.
The Patriots will send an undisclosed draft choice to the Falcons. To make room for Ojinnaka, the team waived rookie cornerback Terrence Johnson, who was a longshot to make the final roster.
Ojinnaka (6-foot-5, 299 pounds) has appeared in 39 career games with 12 starts for the Falcons. He was on the roster bubble in Atlanta after the Falcons drafted two interior offensive linemen this year, Mike Johnson (third round) and Joe Hawley (fourth round).
The guard spot has been a concern for the Patriots with Logan Mankins not reporting for camp and his replacement, Nick Kaczur, sidelined with a serious back injury. Fill-in Dan Connolly has stepped in at left guard, but the depth on the second unit has been thinned.
Ojinnaka, 26, should push 2009 fourth-round draft choice Rich Ohrnberger, 2010 sixth-round draft choice Ted Larsen and second-year player Ryan Wendell for a roster spot.
The Patriots have their full complement of draft choices in 2011, with additional selections in the first, second and sixth rounds. A player of Ojinnaka's caliber would likely command only a later-round pick, assuming he makes New England's roster.
Ojinnaka entered the NFL as a fifth-round draft choice out of Syracuse. He has spent the first four years of his career with the Falcons.
Ojinnaka, who has lined up at tackle, guard and center, is suspended for the first game of this season for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.
He was arrested in May 2009 and charged with battery after his wife confronted him over his contact with a female friend on Facebook. He was accused of tossing his wife down stairs and throwing her out of the house.
Foxsports.com first reported the trade agreement.
Mike Reiss covers the Patriots for ESPN Boston. You can follow him on Twitter or leave a question for his weekly mailbag. Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.