Getty
Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts.
It’s ok, as a fan, if you’ve spent time thinking about what it might be like to see Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts in a Tampa Bay Buccaneers uniform instead of abusing the Buccaneers on the opposite sideline.
That’s just natural.
Things seemed set up for the Buccaneers to take a shot at Pitts in free agency this offseason — an expensive shot — and reunite him with former Falcons offensive coordinator and current Buccaneers offensive coordinator Zac Robinson.
Unfortunately for the Buccaneers, those plans will have to wait after the Falcons appear ready to place the dreaded franchise tag on Pitts coming off his first NFL All-Pro season.
“The Falcons are planning to franchise tag standout TE Kyle Pitts, sources say, keeping their playmaker in the fold on a 1-year, fully guaranteed deal worth more than $15M,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wrote on X on Monday. “The hope is to work out a long-term deal rather than the tag. The two sides have until July to do it.”
Spotrac projects Pitts’ value on the open market as a 4-year, $43.3 million contract after he earned NFL All-Pro honors for the 1st time in 2025.
Pitts was never better than when he played the Buccaneers, with 11 receptions for 166 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 29-28 Falcons win in Week 15.
“Top free agent would’ve potentially fit a need for the Bucs under Zac Robinson but likely too expensive anyway,” Tampa Bay Times NFL reporter Rick Stroud wrote on his official X account on Monday.
Pitts One of NFL’s Most Sought After Free Agents
ESPN’s Matt Bowen had Pitts as the No. 23 overall free agent in the 2026 cycle before news of Pitts’ franchise tag broke on Monday.
“Pitts will have options in free agency after he set career highs for receptions (88) and touchdowns (five) in 2025, but I still see a strong fit if he stays put in Atlanta under new coach Kevin Stefanski,” Bowen wrote on February 17. “With heavily defined concepts, Stefanski can set up Pitts to attack open coverage voids off play-action and also create isolation matchups.”
Falcons QBs Haven’t Done Much to Help Pitts
Playing with 2 different, erratic starting quarterbacks in Michael Penix Jr. and Kirk Cousins, the 6-foot-6, 250-pound Pitts had 88 receptions for 928 yards and 5 touchdowns on the way to earning NFL All-Pro honors for the first time. It was his best season since he had 68 receptions for 1,028 yards and 1 touchdown in a Pro Bowl rookie season in 2021.
Pitts, 25 years old, became the highest drafted tight end in NFL history when the Falcons selected him at No. 4 overall in the 2021 NFL draft after he won the Mackey Award at the University of Florida and ran the 40-yard dash in a mind-altering 4.40 seconds at the NFL scouting combine.
The biggest problem for Pitts to this point in his career has been the team that drafted him. The Falcons haven’t really been one of the NFL’s worst teams since he joined — they’ve been one of the most mediocre.
Atlanta hasn’t had a winning season since 2017 but they’ve never finished more than 3 games below .500 — thus negating almost any chance at a Top 5 draft pick — and new head coach Kevin Stefanski is the franchise’s fourth head coach since 2020.
Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame
More Heavy on Buccaneers
Loading more stories