Kyle Pitts
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Kyle Pitts seems to be a fan of the Falcons' decision to hire Kevin Stefanski as their new head coach
The Atlanta Falcons have undergone many changes as they continue to head into the Kevin Stefanski era after parting ways with head coach Raheem Morris. One of the next things that could come is the departure of tight end Kyle Pitts.
So, will he stay or will he go? Well, there’s a logical argument for both sides.
Regardless, the Falcons have less than a month to figure out what they’re going to do about the future of their pass-catcher if they want to renew his contract. Pitts comes with a franchise tag guaranteeing $15,045,000 if the two parties do not reach an agreement within the current 27-day window.
The Case For The Falcons Parting Ways With Kyle Pitts
Looking at the financial aspect of the situation, it’s easy to argue Pitts simply hasn’t done enough to earn the Falcons — or anyone else — paying him top dollar.
Bill Barnwell of ESPN has his own reservations about Pitts, insinuating that the Falcons had ought to just go ahead and cut ties.
“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 wrote. “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.”
Especially with a new coaching staff in place, it could make even more sense for Atlanta to go in a different direction.
The Case For Keeping Kyle Pitts
Falcons fans have been frustrated time and time again with Pitts, and there’s no doubt about that. Having been selected No. 4 overall in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Pitts has not performed in a way that reflects he deserved to be drafted that highly.
After finishing out his first season with 1,026 receiving yards and a touchdown, his stats dropped up from there. Until 2025, the highest receiving yardage he posted was 667 yards, and the highest total of touchdowns came out to four scores.
However, last season, Pitts did a lot to raise eyebrows and to redeem himself. Over 17 games, Pitts caught 88 passes on 118 targets for 928 yards and five touchdowns. He gave it his all with a high level of production down the stretch, posting 338 of those 928 yards in just the final three games. That’s a good sign of momentum for the future.
There’s some slack to be given to him for some of his shortcomings, though there’s rightful debate on just how much slack that should be. Pitts suffered a knee injury in his second season that caused him issues, and the Falcons themselves have had plenty of fires involving multiple players that they’ve had to put out over the past several seasons, in which the offense has sputtered at times.
Between his “unicorn” type of versatility, speed for his size at 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds, and the possibility of him expanding upon this with what looks to be a better staff from top to bottom in Atlanta, it could be worth holding on to Pitts.
We’ll know how this shakes out sooner rather than later…