Falcons TE Kyle Pitts Signs Franchise Tag
The Falcons begin their offseason program today. Kyle Pitts will be in attendance since he is now under contract with the team once again.
Pitts has signed his franchise tag, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. He still has plenty of time to work out a long-term agreement with Atlanta, but today’s news allows him to take part in offseason work. Pitts’ 2026 tag is worth $15.05MM.
Questions have long been present about where Pitts will wind up in the short- and long-term future. The former fourth overall pick has been expected to play on the tag, and doing so in Atlanta would represent a sixth year with the team. There has not been much (if anything) in the way of progress regarding talks on a multiyear commitment in this case, however. Speculation about a trade has therefore continued since the Falcons took the tag route with Pitts.
Indeed, general manager Ian Cunningham acknowledged one week ago that he would entertain trade offers on this front. Pitts, 25, topped 1,000 yards as a rookie. His next three seasons were seen as a disappointment given his drop in production and a lack of high-end touchdown totals. A turnaround took place in 2025, though, as Pitts totaled 928 yards on a career-high 88 catches. He could remain a focal point on offense in the event he stays in the Falcons’ plans for at least one more year.
Players unhappy with the tag have previously waited as long as possible before signing the one-year tender close to the beginning of the season. That has not been the case for Pitts, an encouraging sign with respect to his willingness to take part in voluntary spring work. The Florida product is one of many young offensive players the Falcons need to keep in mind when budgeting for future financial commitments. Wideout Drake London and running back Bijan Robinson are of course in a similar situation.
To no surprise, Atlanta is planning for extensions on the London and Robinson fronts, and the team will circle back to that after the upcoming draft. The event is often a prime trade window for veterans around the league, and it will be interesting to see if Pitts draws increased attention from potential suitors over the coming days. In any case, he is in position to collect a fully guaranteed figure for the second year in a row from the Falcons or another team.
Falcons Would Consider Kyle Pitts Trade
The Falcons slapped Kyle Pitts with the franchise tag back in February, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the tight end will stick in Atlanta for the 2026 season. Falcons GM Ian Cunningham admitted to reporters today that he’d listen to trade offers on the former first-round pick
[RELATED: Falcons Place Franchise Tag On TE Kyle Pitts]
“It’s my job as the general manager to do what’s best for the organization,” Cunningham said (via Josh Kendall of The Athletic). “Kyle is a great player. We’ve seen his skill set. Also, it’s my job to listen. We’re excited to have Kyle. We’re excited for his future.”
Pitts has struggled to live up to his first-round billing through five years in the NFL, although his performance in 2025 was enough for the new regime to commit to 2026. The tight end had his most productive campaign since his rookie year, and he ultimately finished the season with a career-high 88 receptions for 928 yards and five touchdowns. After being hit with the franchise tag, Pitts will now be attached to a $15MM salary in 2026.
Even before Cunningham acknowledge that a trade could be a possibility, it was uncertain if Pitts had a long-term future in Atlanta. We heard earlier this month that the tight end was expected to play out the 2026 campaign on the franchise tag, and the organization’s new leadership would use their in-person evaluation to determine any future contracts for the veteran.
Now, there’s a chance that Kevin Stefanski‘s staff might not even have an opportunity to work with the pass-catching TE. Pitts’ franchise tag removed a key player from the free agent pool, and among the six tight ends to earn at least $10MM in guaranteed money, only four switched teams (Isaiah Likely, Charlie Kolar, Chig Okonkwo, Daniel Bellinger). In other words, plenty of teams would surely consider a notable addition to their tight ends room, and while Atlanta’s front office couldn’t command a bounty, they wouldn’t lack for suitors.
If Pitts does stick in Atlanta, there will once again be some uncertainty about his role in 2026. He’ll likely be receiving passes from a new QB in Tua Tagovailoa, and he’ll be playing under a new head coach. While Stefanski has had success with the likes of David Njoku and Harold Fannin, the coach made it sound like he wants to utilize all of the tight ends on his depth chart, a grouping that also includes Austin Hooper and Charlie Woerner.
“We certainly want to be a team that goes in and out of different personnel groupings,” Stefanski said (via Kendall). “The spring and summer will allow us to see what our best group is and what we want to lean into.”
No Trade Interest In Cowboys WR George Pickens Yet; Pickens, Falcons TE Kyle Pitts Likely To Play On Franchise Tender?
Cowboys WR George Pickens and Falcons TE Kyle Pitts were two of the three players to receive the franchise tag this year, along with Jets RB Breece Hall (the Colts also applied the transition tag to QB Daniel Jones). According to Albert Breer of SI.com, there is a good chance that both Pickens and Pitts play out the 2026 season on their franchise tenders rather than on new, long-term deals.
Per Breer, the Cowboys and Falcons may want to see that the 2025 performances of Pickens and Pitts, respectively, are sustainable and were not merely a contract-year flash. In Pitts’ case, such an evaluation is purely an on-field one.
As a rookie in 2021, Pitts earned a Pro Bowl nod and topped 1,000 receiving yards. After that, the Florida alum was unable to meet expectations until his 2025 bounce-back campaign, during which he set new career-highs in receptions (88) and touchdowns (five) while amassing 928 yards despite uneven quarterback play.
In 2022, Pitts was limited to 10 games, primarily as a result of an MCL tear. He needed to have his knee drained regularly the following season, and despite playing a full 17-game slate in 2023 and 2024, he appeared in less than two-thirds of Atlanta’s offensive snaps in those years.
His snap share jumped to 88% in 2025, and the increase in playing time coincided with an increase in production. If Pitts can replicate that showing in 2026 under new head coach Kevin Stefanski, a lucrative multiyear deal could be in the offing. His 2025 franchise tender is worth $16.32MM.
The Cowboys, meanwhile, are hoping Pickens can not only be as effective between the lines as he was in 2025 (93/1,493/9), but also if he can stave off the maturity issues that ultimately forced the Steelers to trade him to Dallas in the first place. Although the Cowboys’ approach here will be informed by the fact that they already have fellow wideout CeeDee Lamb on a deal near the top of the receiver market, any reluctance to authorize a similar contract for Pickens could be driven by more than finances.
The contentious negotiations between owner Jerry Jones and Micah Parsons’ agent, David Mulugheta, culminated in the blockbuster trade that sent Parsons to the Packers in August. Jones’ presence and the fact that Mulugheta also represents Pickens have led to speculation that Pickens could be traded this offseason despite the franchise tag, and Tony Pauline of EssentiallySports.com confirms a trade remains a possibility.
However, Pauline has not yet heard of any trade interest in Pickens as of yet. The 25-year-old receiver is due to earn $27.3MM on the franchise tender.
Falcons Place Franchise Tag On TE Kyle Pitts
FEBRUARY 24: The Falcons have officially applied the tag to Pitts, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
FEBRUARY 23: Kyle Pitts is set to spend a sixth season in Atlanta. The veteran tight end is in position to receive the franchise tag, as first reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Pitts will not reach the market based on today’s news. Instead of testing free agency for the first time in his career, Pitts will remain with the Falcons for 2026. The tight end tag is projected to cost $16.32MM, and the team will carry that cost on its cap sheet unless a long-term deal is worked out.
[RELATED: NFL Franchise Tag Recipients Since 2010]
The possibility of the franchise tag has steadily increased in this case, with Pitts enjoying a strong 2025 season and boosting his market value along the way. The former No. 4 pick set a new career high in receptions (88) and touchdowns (five) this past year, bouncing back from a highly underwhelming 2022-24 stretch. Pitts has expressed interest in playing in new head coach Kevin Stefanski‘s offense, and he will be able to do so for at least one year. Many around the NFL expected a tag in this instance, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler confirms.
As a rookie, Pitts earned a Pro Bowl nod and topped 1,000 yards. The Florida alum was unable to match expectations beyond that point until his 2025 bounce-back campaign. Questions about inconsistency have been raised, and it will be interesting to see if a long-term commitment winds up being made by Atlanta. New president of football operations Matt Ryan was once Pitts’ teammate, putting him and the Falcons’ revamped group of decision-makers in an interesting position.
Atlanta is currently slated to have roughly $26.5MM in cap space, with a number of other priorities on offense to be sorted out this spring. A Kirk Cousins release is among them, while wideout Drake London and running back Bijan Robinson are each eligible for extensions. Keeping those two in the fold well beyond 2026 will be costly, especially if a multi-year commitment winds up being made to Pitts. At the age of 25, the second-team All-Pro could command a lucrative pact from Atlanta this year or outside suitors in 2027 in the event he reaches free agency.
Stefanski’s ability to improve an offense which ranked just 19th in scoring in 2025 will be key. Pitts figures to play a large role in that effort regardless of whether or not he agrees to a new Falcons pact over the coming months. July 15 represents the deadline for franchise-tagged players to work out a long-term pact with their respective teams.
2026 NFL Franchise Tag Candidates
We are now in Year 34 of the franchise tag, a retention tool that came about during the same offseason in which full-fledged free agency spawned. The NFL salary cap is rising at a rate allowing teams to hammer out more extensions than in previous periods. That has helped dilute free agency talent pools. This led to a 2025 landscape in which only two players — Tee Higgins and Trey Smith — received the franchise tag. The cap, which stood at $279.2MM in 2025, is expected to rise beyond $301MM this year.
This year’s free agent class looks to feature only one tag lock, but a handful of players make sense as candidates to be kept off the market. An antiquated NFL system regarding positional classifications also affects this year’s free agency crop, as a couple of high-end UFAs-to-be (Tyler Linderbaum, Devin Lloyd) would likely be kept off the market if the league modernized how it sorted positions with regards to tag prices.
Teams who use the franchise or transition tag have until July 15 to complete an extension; otherwise, negotiations cannot restart until after the 2026 season. The transition tag does not bring any compensation back for an unmatched offer sheet, but the two-first-rounder component associated with a franchise tag has not been especially relevant in ages. Although offer sheets have come out in previous eras (Sean Gilbert and Dan Wilkinson signed unmatched offers in the 1990s), clubs avoid these in fear of an unmatched proposal requiring two first-round picks to be sent to the tagging team.
The tag window opens at 3pm CT today. With clubs having until 3pm CT on March 3 to apply tags, here is who may be cuffed:
Likely tag recipients
George Pickens, WR (Cowboys)
Projected tag cost: $28.82MM
The Cowboys have regularly turned to the tag over the past decade. They cuffed DeMarcus Lawrence in 2018 and ’19 before locking down Dak Prescott in 2020 and ’21. The latter Prescott tag was procedural, as the quarterback used the threat of a lofty second tag number hitting Dallas’ cap sheet as leverage toward a player-friendly extension — one that laid the groundwork for his 2024 player-friendly extension. The Cowboys then kept Dalton Schultz (2022) and Tony Pollard (’23) off the market. After two years without unholstering their tag, the Cowboys appear all set to prevent Pickens from reaching free agency.
Acquiring Pickens in a May 2025 trade with the Steelers — which featured a 2026 third-round pick as the top asset going back to Pittsburgh –Dallas reaped immediate benefits from that swap. Pickens, 24, smashed his career-high receiving mark with 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns. That booked the former second-round pick his first Pro Bowl honor; more impressively, Pickens was named a second-team All-Pro. The mercurial ex-Steeler WR1 was more than 300 receiving yards clear of CeeDee Lamb for the Cowboys’ receiving lead; even though Lamb missed three games, Pickens’ per-game average (84.1) better Lamb’s (76.9).
A tag surfaced on the radar here in mid-November, and momentum has steadily built for Pickens to follow in Dez Bryant‘s footsteps as a Cowboy wideout being kept off the market. It will take a near-Saints-level odyssey for the Cowboys to create sufficient cap space for a Pickens tag and reasonable spending room; they are projected to be more than $30MM (per OverTheCap) north of the 2026 salary ceiling, but enough smoke has emerged here — after Pickens fit the tag profile upon arrival — to make it safe to expect this outcome.
The Steelers shipped out Pickens in part because of reliability concerns, but the 6-foot-3 playmaker outperformed — with a considerable QB upgrade in Prescott — his previous work. With Lamb tied to a $34MM-per-year deal and Prescott on an NFL-record $60MM-AAV extension, the Cowboys are far from certain to extend Pickens. A tag-and-trade play has surfaced as a possibility, but with negotiations not having begun as of early February, expect the Cowboys to use the tag to at least buy themselves more time on their ultra-talented WR2.
On tag radar:
Breece Hall, RB (Jets)
Projected tag cost: $14.54MM
The Chiefs offered a fourth-round pick for Hall at the deadline, but the Jets held onto their starting running back after having asked for at least a third-rounder. Hall denied a report he was seeking a New York exit — after the blockbuster deals involving Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams — but he could have a chance to explore his value on the open market soon. The Jets, however, have spoken highly of the 1,000-yard rusher. The tag has surfaced as a possibility.
Hall, 24, is more than two years younger than Etienne. He will thus command more in free agency. The former second-round pick is also more than three years removed from the ACL tear that sidetracked his rookie season. The Jets waited on a Hall extension, keeping him on his rookie contract while giving Gardner and Garrett Wilson big-ticket deals, but Aaron Glenn has spoken highly of the Iowa State alum.
Gang Green wants to retain Hall. The easiest way for that to happen would be to extend his negotiating window via the tag. A $12MM-per-year offer could await the fifth-year player, making a tag logical. If the Jets were to place the transition tag on Hall, it would cost them a projected $11.73MM. They would receive no compensation in the event of an unmatched offer sheet, thus allowing another team to dictate the contract structure a la the Packers’ Kyle Fuller offer sheet in 2018.
The Jets saw Hall sidekick Braelon Allen miss much of the season, but the former Joe Douglas-era fourth-round pick remains signed through 2027. Allen gives the Jets some protection against a Hall exit, with a mid-round 2027 compensatory pick possible as well. But Hall is a dynamic RB that will be an attractive FA commodity if unattached come March 9. The Jets have a big decision to make over the next two weeks.
Trey Hendrickson, DE (Bengals)
Projected tag cost: $34.8MM
The defensive end tag is projected to come in at $27.32MM, but because Hendrickson was attached to a $29MM salary (following a late-summer raise), he is the rare tag candidate to whom the 120% rule would apply. As PFR’s glossary indicates, “the amount of the one-year offer is determined by a formula that includes the salary cap figures and the non-exclusive franchise salaries at the player’s position for the previous five years. Alternately, the amount of the one-year offer can be 120% of the player’s previous salary, if that amount is greater.” In Hendrickson’s case, it would be.
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.
[RELATED: Falcons Offseason Outlook]
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.
Kyle Pitts: It’d Be “Dope” To Play Under Kevin Stefanski
Kyle Pitts has an opportunity to parlay his career year into a lucrative contract, opening the door for him to play elsewhere in 2026. However, the impending free agent tight end is intrigued by the opportunity to continue his Falcons career playing under new leadership.
While speaking with Jordan Schultz and Draymond Green on the Why is Draymond Green Talking About Football? podcast, Pitts said it’d be “dope” to play for new Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski.
“That’d be dope in general as a room and just for morale as an offensive piece, [with] the tight end being one of the focal points in it,” Pitts said (via Schultz on X).
The tight end clarified that he had a significant role under Arthur Smith and Raheem Morris, but he expected an “enhanced role” if he sticks in Atlanta for the long haul. Pitts even said he’s talked with David Njoku about Stefanski’s willingness to showcase tight ends.
Inconsistent QB play prevented Njoku from reaching the top-tier of NFL tight ends, but the long-time Brown still had at least 60 touches per year between 2022 and 2024. Stefanski also got an unexpected performance from TE Harold Fannin in 2025, with the rookie finishing with 79 touches for 744 yards and seven touchdowns.
Pitts has struggled to live up to his fourth-overall-pick billing. While he topped 1,000 receiving yards as a rookie, he was limited to only 1,625 combined receiving yards over the following three years. The impending free agent showed signs of life in 2025, finishing with a career-high 88 catches for 928 yards and five scores. That performance should set him up for a payday, as he’s expected to lead a TE free agent class that also includes Travis Kelce, Dallas Goedert, Isaiah Likely, and Njoku.
There were rumblings that the Falcons could look to retain Pitts via the franchise tag. However, with the Falcons employing new leadership, it’s uncertain if the organization still has the former first-round pick in their plans.
Kirk Cousins Open To Staying With Falcons; Latest On Kyle Pitts
Kirk Cousins made a persistent effort to leave Atlanta this year. The high-priced quarterback — one the team demoted late in the 2024 season — met with Arthur Blank about a release last spring. No trade or release took place, despite Cousins’ desire for the latter route, and he ended up starting nearly half the season.
Michael Penix Jr.‘s injury trouble resurfaced, giving Cousins a runway to start eight games. Cousins quarterbacked five of Atlanta’s eight wins this season. Two years remain on Cousins’ four-year, $180MM contract; only $10MM guaranteed remains on the deal. Penix remains the presumptive Falcons starter in 2026, but the QB’s injury trouble — a primary plotline during his Indiana years — certainly qualifies as an issue at this point.
Months after his meeting with Blank and voiced preference to be released (amid Penix’s rise to QB1 status), Cousins said he is open to staying with the Falcons. Confirming he is not planning to retire, the 14-year veteran said (via The Athletic’s Josh Kendall) he would “love” to stay in Atlanta. The 37-year-old QB is due a $35MM base salary in 2026.
The Falcons would be unlikely to unload all of that in a trade. The Terry Fontenot-led front office had sought to have an acquiring team pick up too much of the tab for clubs’ liking. Cousins’ performance in 2024 had already depressed his trade value, but the Falcons — who let Cousins’ $10MM 2026 guarantee vest this past March — stuck to their guns. Cousins’ presence did not end up mattering in the playoff race, but the Falcons did win four straight games and finished in a three-way tie for first in the again-dismal NFC South. This did not save Fontenot or Raheem Morris‘ jobs, leaving Cousins in limbo.
Cousins finished with 10 touchdown passes and five interceptions, but his completion percentage (61.7) and yards per attempt (6.4) represented career-low figures — in terms of seasons he has been his team’s primary starter. A team could be interested in Cousins, but his contract will become an issue once again if any trade talks are to commence. Minimal trade interest emerged during the season.
The presence of a veteran starter did help Kyle Pitts. Four years after thriving as a rookie with Matt Ryan targeting him, the former first-round tight end came alive at a rather important time. The contract-year pass catcher finished with 88 receptions for 928 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. This included an 11-catch, 166-yard, three-TD night in an upset win over the Buccaneers. Pitts has set himself up well for free agency, even considering his inconsistent past.
A rumor pointing to the Falcons franchise-tagging Pitts came up, but with the team making wholesale changes, ESPN’s Dan Graziano does not see the team extending the 6-foot-6 performer at high-level rate. No known extension talks have taken place.
Drake London will assuredly be a priority, and the standout wide receiver is going into a contract year. Bijan Robinson is also now extension-eligible. This could still keep the tag in play, but an extension may be a stretch for a retooling team. Considering Pitts’ 1,000-yard season came with Ryan targeting him, it will be interesting to learn the retired QB-turned-exec’s views on the matter now that he appears set to take a lead front office role with his former team.
Franchise Tag Candidate: Kyle Pitts
The Falcons have only used the franchise tag three times since the NFL introduced it in 1993. With tight end Kyle Pitts a pending free agent, he could become the fourth Falcon to receive the tag during the upcoming offseason. Pitts’ late-season surge has turned it into a possibility, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says.
Pitts entered the league with great fanfare as the fourth overall pick of the 2021 draft. The former Florida Gator became the highest-drafted tight end in league history, an honor he continues to hold. Although Pitts only caught one touchdown as a rookie, he hauled in 68 receptions for 1,026 yards. That was enough for the 6-foot-6, 250-pounder to earn a Pro Bowl nod, but he was unable to build on that during his next three seasons.
Hamstring and knee injuries limited Pitts to 10 games and 28 catches in his second year. Pitts bounced back to notch consecutive 17-game seasons from 2023-24, though his numbers were more decent than great. He averaged 50 catches, 635 yards, and approximately four touchdowns per year during that span.
The Falcons picked up Pitts’ fifth-year option after 2023, but they weren’t willing to commit to an extension entering this season. That left Pitts to play out 2025 for $10.88MM, a price tag he has justified.
With 73 catches through 14 games, Pitts has already posted a career high. He has also tied a personal best with four scores. Having amassed 797 yards with three games left, Pitts has a chance to reach 1,000 for the second time.
Thanks largely to a scintillating stretch over the past few weeks, Pitts ranks second among tight ends in yards and third in catches. The 25-year-old has piled up 24 catches and 338 yards in his past three games. He was at his best in a Week 15 upset over the Buccaneers, whom he torched for 11 receptions, 166 yards, and three touchdowns.
Pitts’ late-season dominance is what Terry Fontenot expected when he used his first draft pick as a general manager on the pass catcher. It hasn’t worked out as hoped for the Falcons, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2018. Fontenot, in charge for a half-decade, isn’t a sure bet to return in 2026 as a result.
Whether it’s Fontenot or a different GM running the show, that individual will have to decide whether to tag Pitts for approximately $15.88MM. David Mulugheta, Pitts’ agent, “hates the franchise tag,” according to Rapoport. He’d surely prefer a long-term pact. However, the Falcons may have higher priorities in running back Bijan Robinson and wide receiver Drake London. The team could lock up either or both of them on mega-deals during the upcoming offseason.
A sub-$16MM cost for one year of Pitts doesn’t look unreasonable, but the Falcons are projected to have just under $1MM in spending space in 2026, per Over the Cap. They could tag Pitts and then try to find a taker in a trade. Otherwise, they’ll need to clear more room to keep Pitts and meaningfully address other areas of their roster, potentially including quarterback.
While Pitts and backup QB Kirk Cousins have formed an excellent rapport lately, that wasn’t the case when the latter started over a larger sample in 2024. Cousins, who has taken over since Michael Penix Jr. suffered a partially torn ACL in Week 11, is a clear release candidate heading into the offseason.
Cutting Cousins would open up a sizable chuck of cap for Atlanta. It would also lead to more uncertainty under center for the Falcons, who may not have Penix at the beginning of next season. Cousins and Penix are part of an unspectacular group of starting QBs who have worked with Pitts during his time in Atlanta. Matt Ryan (at the twilight of his career), Marcus Mariota, and Desmond Ridder are the others. Not pairing up with a high-level passer has likely held Pitts back to some degree. Nevertheless, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Falcons place the franchise tag on him in a couple of months.
If the Falcons don’t tag or re-sign Pitts, he could wind up as the most appealing tight end on the open market. Travis Kelce, Dallas Goedert, David Njoku, and Zach Ertz are also scheduled to reach free agency. Pitts is by far the youngest member of the group. Kelce, who’s likely in Kansas City-or-retirement mode, Goedert, and Ertz are all on the wrong side of 30. Njoku will turn 30 in July, and Ertz will enter 2026 off a recent ACL tear. That’s assuming the 35-year-old continues his career next season.
NFC South Notes: Pitts, Otton, Saints, Young
The Falcons rebuffed Kyle Pitts trade interest, though with the former top-five pick set to begin a contract year, it is possible the franchise could revisit this topic. Pitts was mentioned as “relatively available” this offseason, with the price of a Day 2 pick floated. No Pitts extension is planned, but a franchise tag would not be out of the question if the tight end puts together a good contract year. Still, teams indeed viewed the Florida alum as available in the past, per The Athletic’s Josh Kendall. The Falcons stumbling out of the blocks this season could reignite the prospect of Pitts being traded during his fifth-year option season.
How Pitts’ salary would be divvied up in a trade would be a key component in negotiations, as he is tied to a $10.88MM option salary. The later in the season he is dealt, the less money an acquiring team would be responsible for. The Falcons having Pitts would give Michael Penix Jr. a fairly talented weapon, but if the team intends to make the 6-foot-6 pass catcher a one-contract player, it would make sense to listen to offers before the November deadline.
Here is the latest from the NFC South:
- Buccaneers extensions for Luke Goedeke and Zyon McCollum have surfaced this week, but the team appears through with its preseason paydays. No Cade Otton deal is expected, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes. Otton would join Pitts as promising TE options in 2026, barring any franchise tags. The former fourth-round pick is interested in a Bucs extension, and Tampa Bay is rather good at retaining its own. Next year’s tight end market would stand to include, barring extensions or tags, big names. Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, Dallas Goedert, David Njoku and Isaiah Likely‘s contracts expire after this season. Otton, Pitts and Likely would be of particular interest as second-contract-seeking players. Otton, 26, is looking to build on a career-best 600 yards and four touchdown catches last season.
- Pro Football Focus rated Alontae Taylor as the NFL’s worst full-time cornerback last season, ranking him 116th. The former second-round pick’s perception within the league appears different, as Fowler notes the Saints CB is on the extension radar. New Orleans jettisoned Marshon Lattimore at last year’s deadline and lost Paulson Adebo — a player the team hoped to re-sign — in free agency. Although the Saints drafted Kool-Aid McKinstry in Round 2 last year, they appear interested in a second Taylor contract. He has started 37 career games entering his platform year.
- Chase Young is again dealing with injury trouble. The recently re-signed defensive end, who bounced back from neck surgery to play 17 games last season, will miss the Saints’ opener with a calf injury. Young joins Trevor Penning, who has been battling turf toe, in being ruled out.
- The Falcons have not ruled out Darnell Mooney for Week 1, but the team has been coy regarding the deep threat’s status after a late-July shoulder injury. In other Mooney matters, the team restructured his contract. Atlanta created $6MM in cap space by restructuring Mooney’s deal, ESPN’s Field Yates tweets. Mooney is tied to a three-year, $39MM contract — a deal that includes three void years. The sixth-year receiver’s restructure ballooned his 2026 cap hit to $18.05MM.
- Last September, Bryce Young‘s January 2026 extension-eligible date did not appear to mean much. The Panthers were moving toward a 2025 separation with a QB they benched. Young’s second-half turnaround last season, though, has the prospect of a 2026 payday back in play, per ESPN’s Dan Graziano. The Panthers believe the undersized passer has turned a corner in terms of confidence and competitiveness, and Carolina believes the improvement he showed late last year will carry over. While it would be perhaps more newsworthy if the Panthers didn’t believe Young would sustain this form, the prospect of an extension for the 5-foot-10 QB is still notable considering the separation rumors that engulfed him less than a year ago.