{"id":771689,"date":"2026-02-23T19:23:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T19:23:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/771689\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T19:23:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T19:23:13","slug":"top-te-not-reaching-free-agency-falcons-reportedly-expected-to-tag-kyle-pitts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/771689\/","title":{"rendered":"Top TE Not Reaching Free Agency? Falcons Reportedly Expected to Tag Kyle Pitts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" use-external-image=\"false\" data-v-d04fc069=\"\"><a class=\"entity\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/nfl\/kyle-pitts-player\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kyle Pitts<\/a> was set to become one of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/stories\/nfl\/nfl-free-agent-tight-ends-top-10-tes-available-offseason\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">the top tight ends available in free agency<\/a> this offseason, but the <a class=\"entity\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/nfl\/atlanta-falcons-team\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Atlanta Falcons<\/a> might prevent that from happening.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" use-external-image=\"false\" data-v-d04fc069=\"\">The Falcons plan on placing the franchise tag on Pitts with the hopes that they&#8217;ll be able to agree to a longterm deal, <a class=\"entity\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RapSheet\/status\/2025993256148898152\" rel=\"nofollow\">NFL Media reported Monday<\/a>. If Pitts receives the franchise tag, he&#8217;d be able to sign a one-year deal worth roughly $16 million, which would be fully guaranteed. The Falcons could also trade Pitts if they&#8217;re unable to reach an agreement on a longterm deal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" use-external-image=\"false\" data-v-d04fc069=\"\">Pitts, 25, had a resurgent season in 2025 following a few down years. He posted career-highs in receptions (88) and receiving touchdowns (five) to go with 928 receiving yards.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" use-external-image=\"false\" data-v-d04fc069=\"\">With Pitts having a strong year, FOX Sports&#8217; Greg Auman placed him 19th in his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/stories\/nfl\/2026-nfl-free-agency-top-100-players-available-potential-fits\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">top 100 NFL free agents ranking<\/a> for this offseason. Pitts was also the highest-ranked tight end on the list, sitting ahead of Isaiah Likely (<a class=\"entity\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/nfl\/baltimore-ravens-team\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Baltimore Ravens<\/a>), <a class=\"entity\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/nfl\/david-njoku-player\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">David Njoku<\/a> (<a class=\"entity\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/nfl\/cleveland-browns-team\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cleveland Browns<\/a>), <a class=\"entity\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/nfl\/travis-kelce-player\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Travis Kelce<\/a> (<a class=\"entity\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/nfl\/kansas-city-chiefs-team\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kansas City Chiefs<\/a>) and <a class=\"entity\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/nfl\/dallas-goedert-player\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dallas Goedert<\/a> (<a class=\"entity\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/nfl\/philadelphia-eagles-team\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Philadelphia Eagles<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" use-external-image=\"false\" data-v-d04fc069=\"\">Now, it appears Pitts will be remaining in Atlanta for at least another season. Pitts, who the Falcons took with the fourth overall pick in the 2020 <a class=\"entity\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/nfl\/nfl-draft\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NFL Draft<\/a>, will likely play a key role in Atlanta&#8217;s offense alongside wide receiver Drake Lodnon and running back <a class=\"entity\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/nfl\/bijan-robinson-player\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Bijan Robinson<\/a> while catching passes from third-year quarterback <a class=\"entity\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/nfl\/michael-penix-player\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Michael Penix<\/a> Jr.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" use-external-image=\"false\" data-v-d04fc069=\"\">Even though Atlanta already has some pretty talented playmakers, Pitts could be in line for another big season with the Falcons if he&#8217;s with the team in 2026 as well. New head coach Kevin Stefanski has relied on tight ends for success over the years, with Njoku and <a class=\"entity\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/nfl\/harold-fannin-player\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Harold Fannin<\/a> Jr. having big roles in the Cleveland Browns&#8217; offense when he was their head coach.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" use-external-image=\"false\" data-v-d04fc069=\"\">Teams have until March 3 to place the franchise tag on pending free agents. Once a player receives the franchise tag, they typically have until sometime in mid-July to sign a multi-year deal.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kyle Pitts was set to become one of the top tight ends available in free agency this offseason,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":771690,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2068],"tags":[254,4127,25,7,57038,1879,122,6,242,109,2476],"class_list":{"0":"post-771689","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-eagles","8":"tag-atlanta-falcons","9":"tag-bijan-robinson","10":"tag-eagles","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-kyle-pitts-sr","13":"tag-michael-penix-jr","14":"tag-national-football-league","15":"tag-nfl","16":"tag-philadelphia","17":"tag-philadelphia-eagles","18":"tag-philadelphiaeagles"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116121580778029942","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/771689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=771689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/771689\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/771690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=771689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=771689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=771689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}