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Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts came into the league with big expectations, and he received a big contract extension, though he hasn’t fully lived up to those expectations.
Pitts was considered a generational talent coming out of Florida in the 2021 draft, when the Falcons took him with the No. 4 pick. He has 284 receptions for 3,576 yards and 15 touchdowns in four seasons, and that included one Pro Bowl and one second-team All-Pro appearance.
Those aren’t quite generational talent numbers, and he hasn’t dominated at that level on a week-to-week basis for significant chunks of his young career. The Falcons extended Pitts with a three-year, $54 million contract extension on Monday.
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"I think there's a lot more out there, a lot more to get, and a lot more things to keep grinding towards. It's cool to see," Pitts told reporters on Monday.
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Pitts came short of a 1,000-yard season last year, and he hasn’t reached that mark since the 2021 season. However, he had his best season for catching touchdowns with five last year.
Conversely, his yards per catch hit a career low with 10.5 yards per reception, after at least 12.6 yards per catch for the previous three seasons.
His quarterback situation may not improve this year since Michael Penix Jr. is coming back from injury and Tua Tagovailoa is coming off a down year with the Miami Dolphins. That said, Pitts wasn’t putting up his best numbers between Penix and former Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins the past two seasons.
Atlanta still wanted him bad enough to franchise tag him before the contract extension. For Pitts, he was relieved to get the deal done.
"It was more so, 'OK, that was my opportunity that Atlanta picked it back up to give me another year to showcase,'" Pitts said. "And then it was just time to squeeze the rag and just grind.”
“I was fortunate I got the call and the interest in the long term, and when it happened, it was pretty great,” he added.
Pitts now gets a chance to prove the Falcons right for investing heavily in him when the 2026 season arrives. He still has a shot at emerging as a generational talent, too.
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