Kyle Pitts will play the 2026 NFL season for the Atlanta Falcons.
Beyond that? It's anyone's guess where Pitts winds up for the next stage of his career.
The talented tight end will be playing out his fifth-year option season with the Falcons this fall. He's coming off a quality campaign, which followed two mediocre ones, which followed a strong rookie year.
Pitts is supremely gifted, but it hasn't always shown up consistently, which makes him a tough evaluation as he heads toward the end of this contract.
ESPN's Bill Barnwell thinks Pitts could become the NFL's highest-paid tight end briefly, before Brock Bowers of the Raiders overtakes him. But Barnwell also isn't sure Pitts will stick around in Atlanta to do that.
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Part of the problem is that the Falcons are shelling out a lot of money elsewhere on offense. Drake London has already gotten paid, and Bijan Robinson is in the running to become the highest-paid RB of all time whenever he signs his new deal.
"Pitts isn't much of a blocker, and I'm not sure I would want to make him the highest-paid tight end, but too many teams need move tight ends who can stretch the field," Barnwell writes. "He's also only 25 years old. The Falcons could tag Pitts a second time and pay him $18 million, but with a new regime in place, Atlanta might choose to move on from Pitts, especially with London signing a new deal and running back Bijan Robinson likely to join him shortly."
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On the one hand, it'd be a disappointment for the Falcons to let Pitts leave in free agency and not get to take full advantage of his prime.
But on the other hand, particularly if this season is back to Pitts' frustrating inconsistency, it might be time to try for a change of scene and vibes.
Pitts showed he could be a special player for Atlanta, but he hasn't always shown that enough. That could eventually push him out of town as the Falcons decide to use their cash on London and Robinson instead.
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