The Atlanta Falcons announced on Tuesday that they have placed the franchise tag on tight end Kyle Pitts. This is the fourth time in team history the Falcons have used the franchise tag on a player.

ESPN reported on Monday that the Falcons were planning to use the franchise tag on Pitts. This means that Pitts, who was heading into the offseason as an unrestricted free agent, will be under contract with the Falcons for one more season and will make around $16 million.

On Tuesday morning, Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham said the team was planning to put the franchise tag on Kyle Pitts. “That should get done today,” Cunningham said earlier on Radio Row, per Tori McElhaney of AtlantaFalcons.com.

Pitts is coming off one of his best seasons, catching 88 passes for 928 yards and five touchdowns. His production in 2025 led to him being selected to the AP All-Pro Second Team.

More on Kyle Pitts and the Falcons tight ends

With Pitts returning to the Falcons this fall, he will work with new head coach Kevin Stefanski. In January, Stefanski spoke to reporters about how important the tight end position is to a football team.

“I love the position. I coached it. It was my first position to coach on the offensive staff, was tight ends there with the Vikings under coach (Mike) Zimmer,” Stefanski said. “I love the position because of the versatility that it provides an offense. And you’ve seen it around the league. This is nothing new or earth-shattering, but tight ends that can line up all over make life hard on a defense. Whether you can line them up outside, in the backfield, in line, you name it, we love versatility at that position.

“Obviously, Kyle’s somebody that we’ll talk at length more about when it comes to those types of roster conversations, but the position itself is something that we feel really very strongly about.”

The Falcons selected Pitts at No. 4 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in his rookie season after catching 68 passes for 1,026 yards and one touchdown. In five seasons, the former Florida star has registered 284 catches for 3,579 yards and 15 TDs.