FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Kyle Pitts used a white Gatorade towel to shield himself from the heat as he addressed reporters for the first time since signing the Falcons’ franchise tag last month. He said the move followed his rookie contract and fifth-year option expiring and comes amid an unseasonably hot spring in the region.
The franchise tender will pay Pitts $15,045,000 in 2026. Pitts, entering a second straight season without a long-term extension, called the tag a positive and compared it to a sixth-year option. He said it felt like a vote of confidence from the new staff and that he was “not worried about it.”
The Falcons made extensive front-office and coaching changes this offseason, firing head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot and replacing them with head coach Kevin Stefanski, general manager Ian Cunningham and president of football Matt Ryan. The moves left uncertainty about Pitts’ future in Atlanta before the tag was announced.
Pitts, 25, comes off a productive season in which he finished second among tight ends with 88 receptions and 928 receiving yards and had five touchdown catches. In December he posted 11 receptions for 166 yards and three touchdowns in a game, becoming the first tight end to reach at least 150 yards with three scores in a game since Shannon Sharpe in 1996.
Stefanski, who previously coached tight ends with the Minnesota Vikings and worked with David Njoku in Cleveland, praised Pitts’ physical skill set and said he has been pleased with how Pitts is taking to new elements of the offense. Pitts said he is adding new routes and “more tools to my toolbox.” He also is reunited with Matt Ryan, his rookie quarterback in 2021, when Pitts had 68 catches for 1,026 yards and a touchdown.
