The Atlanta Falcons have traded linebacker Akeem Dent to the Houston Texans for quarterback T.J. Yates.
Yates, who played at Pope High School in nearby Marietta, Georgia, took to his Twitter account to say, "Rise Up," which is the Falcons' slogan.
Falcons coach Mike Smith had said this week that the backup quarterback position behind Matt Ryan was "wide open" among Dominique Davis, Sean Renfree and rookie Jeff Mathews.
The Texans had planned to cut Yates after naming Ryan Fitzpatrick the starter on Tuesday but changed direction once other teams learned of their plans and began to make trade offers.
The Falcons also said Wednesday that they had signed veteran linebacker Tim Dobbins to a contract.
ESPN.com's Tania Ganguli contributed to this report.
