The Atlanta Falcons plan to place the franchise tag on tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. The deal would keep one of the top tight ends in the league one more season. Franchise tag contract numbers are based on the top five annual salaries at each position. Pitts stands to make about $16,319,000 in 2026, the franchise tag salary this year for tight ends, according to OverTheCap.com. Pitts and the Falcons will have until July 15 to agree to a long-term contract or else he will have to play the 2026 season under the franchise tender. The deadline for teams to use the franchise or transition tag is next Tuesday with free agency beginning the week after. Kyle Pitts Sr. finished second among tight ends in receptions with 88 and yards with 928. Pitts Sr. only trailed Trey McBride of the Arizona Cardinals and caught a career-high five touchdowns.
Kyle Pitts Sr. finished the season being voted second-team All-Pro. Pitts struggled with injuries and inconsistency from 2022 to 2024 after a record-breaking rookie season in 2021. Pitts had 1,026 yards on 68 catches in his first year. He was the first tight end to reach 1,000 yards as a rookie since Mike Ditka in 1961 and the first tight end to make the Pro Bowl since Jeremy Shockey in 2002. The Falcons drafted Pitts at No. 4 overall out of Florida in the 2021 NFL Draft, believing in his combination of speed, size and ability to make plays in space.
Will the Atlanta Falcons and Kyle Pitts Sr. get a long-term deal worked out? Or will Pitts play on that one-year deal or worse not report to camp? What happens between Kyle Pitts Sr. and the Atlanta Falcons?
