Kyle

Pitts

Just yesterday, ESPN’s Dan Graziano opined that the Falcons might want to see how Pitts fits in their new offense before committing to a long-term contract. Today, his colleague Marc Raimondi published comments from Pitts, who described the tag as being “kind of like my fifth-year option, but it’s a sixth-year option.” Pitts believes that the new staff’s tag use shows that they see something in him and “trust” him. Tagged players sometimes hold out or argue for a long-term deal. Not Pitts. He is ready to play. Stefanski, a former tight ends coach, has helped deliver TE1 results over the years. Per PFF, flats and hitches were Pitts’ most run routes last year. Based on Stefanski’s 2025 play designs with the Browns, Pitts could run them even more this year, while also running more drags, curls and potentially, overs. Pitts is a TE1 this season, but his range of potential outcomes is still being decided. Hopefully, we learn more during training camp next month.

Pitts is set to play on the franchise tag worth $15.045 million if he and the Falcons don’t agree to an extension by July 15. With Drake London signing a $141 million extension and Bijan Robinson also set to cash in this offseason, it’s unclear if the Falcons will also extend Pitts. The 25-year-old tight end had an excellent season in 2025, but was inconsistent in the previous four seasons. Graziano writes that if no extension is agreed upon and the Falcons struggle early in the season, he could become a trade candidate. He mentions the Raves as a team that would likely have interest.

Pelissero’s colleague, Ian Rapoport, reported that Pitts had signed the franchise tag back on April 7th, so this is a bit surprising. Pitts was rumored to be on the trade block entering the 2026 NFL Draft, but the team cannot trade an unsigned player. Maybe there is more at play here. Time will tell. Regardless, Pitts is set to make $15.045 million on the tag this year.

Kansas City, Breech said, “should be the first team to give them a call about making a possible deal” for Pitts, who is reportedly on the trade block, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. “The Chiefs currently have two first-round picks heading into the draft and they would likely be able to get a deal done by sending just one of those to Atlanta.” Breech said dealing Pitts, entering his age-26 season, would free up some much-needed salary cap space for the Falcons and give them a first-round draft pick, which they do not have at the moment. Pitts, Breech said, would be the “heir apparent” to Travis Kelce, 36, who re-signed with the Chiefs last month after briefly considering retirement for a third straight offseason. Pitts in 2025 had 88 receptions for 928 yards and five touchdowns, a career season. KC last year ranked 11th in two tight end usage (28 percent).

We’ve seen some muted buzz on Pitts this offseason — to the point where Falcons GM Ian Cunningham gave a non-answer “it’s my job to listen” when asked about him at the NFL Owner’s meetings — but it does feel like real news that the Falcons are in a world where they’d consider moving him after Pitts signed the franchise tender earlier in April. Pitts, who doesn’t turn 26 until October, would represent an interesting upside swing. It remains to be seen if the Falcons could get enough for him, given the fact that he’d likely require an extension, to actually make moving him interesting for their long-term future.

Pitts has locked in a one-year, $15.045 million deal for his age-26 season and, more importantly, will get in early work in new Falcons HC Kevin Stefanski’s system. Pitts has the potential to be a huge part of the Falcons game plan in 2026 and may go a bit underlooked in fantasy football because of his post-post-post-post-hype sleeper syndrome and the quarterback situation. He remains outside the top 75 picks in most formats.

This was briefly mentioned as a possibility by Jonathan Jones ahead of free agency, but it doesn’t seem like anything has actually developed here. Cunningham added that he’s “excited to have Kyle” and “excited for his future.” Reading between the lines, it sounds like Cunningham would consider moving on from the talented 25-year-old if someone bowled them over with a package. But it also doesn’t sound like that package is incoming, or that we should expect it to come soon.

The Athletic’s Josh Kendall answered a mailbag question about this by simply saying “whether or not they listen is another question” and noting that Kevin Stefanski sounded “very much like he wanted to coach Pitts for a year.” So the open question on both sides is whether the Falcons would actually be willing to hear out an offer. It’s possible the Falcons get an offer they can’t refuse, but it sounds like based on the reporting the Falcons are more likely to sit tight on Pitts through his franchise tag.

The Falcons officially placed the franchise tag on Pitts on Tuesday. While the two sides could still come to terms on a long-term deal to keep Pitts in Atlanta beyond next season, Kendall says “the vibe Atlanta is giving when it comes to Pitts” suggests a new deal is unlikely. Pitts caught 88 passes for 928 yards and five touchdowns last season, turning in what was arguably the best year of his five-year career. Still only 25 years old, it’s fair to assume the Falcons will want to keep Pitts under contract for years to come if he can replicate that success again next season. That said, with a new regime in place and head coach Kevin Stefanski still getting a sense of what he can do with his roster, it’s understandable if the team would prefer to see how Pitts performs in 2026 before making any long-term commitments.

That’s a one-year, $16.3 million contract for Pitts assuming he does not sign an extension off the tag. There have been worse fates. It’s fair to wonder if the Falcons will emphasize Pitts earlier in the pecking order as he carried a very high aDOT (7.2) for a player who garnered over 100 targets last season. Kevin Stefanski had Harold Fannin down at 5.9 in a screen-heavy attack in Cleveland last year. It’s possible Pitts could be a post-post-post-post-hype sleeper this season.