It’s not a surprise, but NFL insider Ian Rapoport is reporting that the Falcons will indeed use the franchise tag on Kyle Pitts.
After a breakout season that saw him set career marks in receptions in touchdowns, and with incoming head coach Kevin Stefanski being one of the biggest NFL tight end enthusiasts this side of Arthur Smith, this felt close to inevitable. Rapoport indicates the Falcons will use the tag to buy themselves time for a long-term pact with Pitts, with the deal needing to be done by July.
Pitts, who won’t turn 26 until October, has already played five seasons in Atlanta and has 284 career receptions for 3,579 yards and 15 touchdowns as a Falcon. Those numbers are good for 4th all-time among Falcons tight ends for receptions and yardage and 5th in touchdowns, with Jim Mitchell, Tony Goznalez, Alge Crumpler, and Austin Hooper (for touchdowns) ahead of him. The bulk of Pitts’ production has come between his 2021 rookie season and 2025 breakout campaign, where he put up a little over half of his receptions and yardage, but the Falcons seem convinced that the young tight end is on the cusp of making his 2025 totals a regular thing. In a tight end friendly offense, we hope so too.
We’ll see when this is official, but all signs have pointed to this outcome for a while now, and the Falcons will be able to count on putting Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts, and Drake London on the field at the same time. That should help the offense and whoever is playing quarterback, so long as the Falcons get all the other pieces around them right.
