According to a report from Ian Rapaport of the NFL Network, the Atlanta Falcons are planning to put the franchise tag on tight end Kyle Pitts. The deadline to do so is next Tuesday.
The 25-year-old Pitts is off his best season, hauling in 88 receptions on 118 targets for 928 receiving yards and five touchdowns. His 88 catches were a career-best and the second-highest total among NFL TEs.
Pitts produced a spectacular performance at Tampa Bay on Thursday Night Football in December. He snagged 12 receptions for 166 yards and three TDs, leading the Falcons back from a 28-14 deficit in the fourth quarter.
If you’re familiar with my work on the app formerly known as Twitter (@vegasbedwards if you aren’t), you know that I’ve been vocal and then some about the reality that Pitts has played for incompetent coaches. With the exception of his rookie year when he brought down 68 catches for 1,026 yards and one TD during Matt Ryan’s final season in Atlanta, Pitts has played with extremely mediocre QBs.
Per OverTheCap.com, Pitts will make $16.32 million in 2026. That franchise tag number is based on the top five annual salaries at the TE position.
Atlanta took Pitts with the #4 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He was off a monster junior season for Florida in eight games against all-SEC competition.
Pitts led UF to a 51-35 season-opening win at Ole Miss by catching eight balls for 170 yards and four TDs. He finished the year with 43 receptions for 770 yards and 12 TDs.
In 2022, Pitts dealt with consistent overthrows from former Atlanta QB Marcus Mariota. He went down with a season-ending knee injury in Week 12, ending his season with career-lows in catches (59) and receiving yards (356).
Pitts finished 2022 with only two TD catches. His seven-game absence at the end of the year are the only missed games of his career.
In 2023, Atlanta inexplicably went to Desmon Ridder as its starting QB. Arthur Smith’s play calling was – per usual – trash on a weekly basis, and Ridder’s play was equally wretched.
Smith’s ill-fated tenure belatedly ended after three seasons of complete ineptitude. The Falcons didn’t do any better with their next hire, selecting former Tampa Bay HC (and Atlanta interim HC after a DC run for Dan Quinn) Raheem Morris.
The results were predictable. Two more losing seasons. Two more years of not throwing to Pitts nearly enough.
When WR Drake London missed several games in 2025, the Falcons finally (!) started making Pitts their primary target. He responded with a four-game stretch of making at least eight catches.
Atlanta now retains Pitts for at least one more season and will try to work out a long-term deal. Whether the QB play and play calling will be improved remains to be seen.
Whatever the case, this is the right move. If Pitts ever gets quality QB play and a coach that’ll put an emphasis on getting him the football, especially in the red zone, he’ll absolutely destroy all of his career-best numbers with the quickness.
In turn, the Falcons will score points galore and win a lot more football games.
Better late than never, right?