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Eric Beverly is headed back to the team where his NFL career began, but not back to the position he previously played.

Beverly

The 10-year veteran, released earlier this week by the Atlanta Falcons, has reached agreement with the Detroit Lions, where he played the first seven seasons of his career as an offensive guard and center. This time around, he will play tight end, the position to which he switched when he signed with the Falcons in 2004.

Beverly, 33, will fill a role as a blocker in short-yardage and goal-line situations. He will be the third veteran tight end on the depth chart, behind Dan Campbell and Casey FitzSimmons. The Lions' coaches also wanted to add Beverly for the leadership that he will bring to a young locker room.

His release by the Falcons this week was not totally unexpected, given that Atlanta has a new head coach in Bobby Petrino, and is revamping its offense. Detroit officials quickly contacted Beverly, a popular player during his first tour of duty with the Lions, after the Falcons released him.

Beverly was entering the final year of his contract in Atlanta and was slated for a base salary of $988,000 for the 2007 season. Details of his new contract with the Lions were not immediately available.

The Lions originally signed Beverly as an undrafted free agent from Miami of Ohio in 1997. In his seven years in Detroit, Beverly, noted as a solid in-line blocker, started 48 games at guard and center, including 16 in 2001 and 13 in '03.

When the Falcons signed Beverly in 2004, they intended to use him as a backup offensive lineman, and then decided to move him to tight end, primarily as a blocker in short-yardage and goal-line situations. In his three seasons as a tight end, however, Beverly caught only one pass, last year, for zero yards.

For his career, Beverly has appeared in 137 games.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.