Falcons ‘Likely’ To Tag TE Kyle Pitts?

Although he’s a pending free agent, Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts said in late January it would be “dope” to play for new head coach Kevin Stefanski. A potential trip to the open market is looming for Pitts, but it appears he will indeed work with Stefanski in 2026. Atlanta placing the franchise tag on Pitts is the “most likely outcome,” Josh Kendall of The Athletic writes.

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The window to tag players opens at 3 CT Tuesday and will close March 3, giving the Falcons about two weeks to make a decision on Pitts. Stefanski, president of football Matt Ryan and general manager Ian Cunningham were not in place when the Falcons brought in Pitts as a first-round pick in 2021.They could nonetheless sign off on tagging Pitts for a projected $16.32MM.

A former Florida star, Pitts came off the board fourth overall, making him the highest-drafted tight end ever. Pitts has lived up to the billing at times, but probably not as often as former general manager Terry Fontenot was hoping for when he chose the 6-foot-6, 250-pounder.

The Falcons fired Fontenot after the season, ending his five-year run atop their front office. That set up a reunion with Ryan, who quarterbacked the Falcons for 14 years. With Pitts’ future up in the air, It’s worth noting Ryan and Pitts developed an on-field rapport in the latter’s rookie campaign. Pitts caught 68 passes and went over 1,000 yards (1,026) for the only time in his career that year, Ryan’s last season as a Falcon. Although Pitts scored just one touchdown, he earned his lone Pro Bowl invite.

Hamstring and knee injuries limited the normally durable Pitts to 10 games and 28 receptions in his second year. He hasn’t missed a game since then (nor did he in his first year), but Pitts’ numbers were closer to decent than great from 2023-24. He averaged 50 grabs, 635 yards and four TDs per season during that stretch.

Playing 2025 on his fifth-year option and a $10.88MM salary, Pitts enjoyed arguably the best season of his career at an opportune time. He set personal highs in catches (88), targets (118) and TDs (five). Pitts also finished with 928 yards en route to second-team All-Pro honors. However, there is skepticism in some corners that Pitts’ output would remain that strong on a multiyear contract.

“He didn’t really look like he really wanted it until it was time to get paid,” one personnel executive told Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom. “That’s a big red flag for me.”

If the Falcons are similarly hesitant to hand Pitts a sizable multiyear deal, it would still make sense to keep him around for a season with Stefanski. Known as a tight end-friendly coach, Stefanski had plenty of success in Cleveland with David Njoku from 2020-25. He and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees also helped third-round rookie Harold Fannin to a 72-catch, 731-yard, six-TD showing last season. Stefanski and Rees (now the Falcons’ OC) would likely expect even better results from Pitts.