The Falcons should have a very busy offseason, beginning with the complicated decision surrounding Kirk Cousins’ future. Drew Dalman’s contract negotiations and improvements to the defense are significant to-dos as well, and sandwiched somewhere in the middle of all of that is Kyle Pitts, who is already the subject of trade speculation.
The highest-drafted tight end in NFL history hasn’t lived up to the billing. Pitts is entering the final year of his contract, a fifth-year option that is guaranteed to pay him just south of $11 million. He finished the season with a little over 600 yards receiving, good for 13th among tight ends and 66th among all players. He’s simply not been good enough, which the Falcons GM acknowledged.
“When you take a player that high, obviously you expect a certain level,” Terry Fontenot said in his end of season press conference. “We understand Kyle had a really good rookie year and it hasn’t equaled that since then. There are no excuses we’re making about it.”
It’s not only fans speculating either. ESPN’s Ben Solak is predicting a blockbuster Falcons trade this offseason, one that sends Pitts to the Bengals for a measly Day 3 pick, though Solak did classify it as a bold prediction.
Since coming into the league in 2021, Kyle Pitts ranks 11th among tight ends in yards per game and 27th in touchdowns, according to Josh Kendall, who also pointed out how productive Ja’Marr Chase, the fifth draft pick in the 2021 cycle, has been in that same period “third in receiving yards (87.5) and first in receiving touchdowns (.74) per game since 2021.”
Bleacher Report’s James Palmer also said that Pitts is a player to “keep an eye on” this offseason as a trade candidate.
“He’s entering his last year of his contract, fifth-year option, $10 million. I’m just looking at the way things went in Atlanta,” Palmer said. “The progression of targets went Drake London, Bijan Robinson, Darnell Mooney, Kyle Pitts. Are you going to give a massive contract extension to a fourth overall pick who has underperformed? … Obviously, there’s been some injuries, who’s kind of fourth on your list of where you want the football to go?”
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Photographer: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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