The Atlanta Falcons may or may not end up trading Kyle Pitts.
But if they end up deciding to get rid of their talented but inconsistent tight end during the final season of his current contract, there could be an obstacle.
Pitts is due $10.878 million for this season, and in a midseason deal, that won’t be an easy amount to stomach.
Here’s how The Athletic’s Jeff Howe explained the entire predicament in a new article on Friday:
“This is an important upcoming stretch for tight end Kyle Pitts, the athletically gifted No. 4 pick from the 2021 draft who is playing on his fifth-year option. Pitts has averaged 49 catches and 663 yards over his first four seasons with 10 total touchdowns. Teams have been under the impression Pitts could have been available in a trade in the past, and that could be the case if the Falcons stumble before the Nov. 5 deadline. The obstacle there, though, would be the balance of Pitts’ $10.878 million salary.”
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If Pitts is having a rough first half of the season, one that seems to align with his recent struggles, it’d be even harder.
The best scenario for the Falcons to trade Pitts would likely be that he plays well even amid some losing, so it feels like a rebuilding move but selling high rather than selling low.
It’s hard to know if that’s even a possibility, though. There are plenty of questions still around QB Michael Penix Jr., and that doesn’t help know whether Pitts will be good or not.
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Pitts, still only 24, was the No. 4 overall pick out of Florida in 2021.
As a rookie, he caught 68 passes for 1,026 yards (and oddly, only one touchdown).
But Pitts has never reached even 700 yards in a season since then.
He battled injuries in 2022, but then in 2023 and 2024, he averaged 633 yards per season while playing all 17 games both times.
At this point, Pitts is a big shrug. He could prove himself, or he could disappoint again. And maybe there’ll be a trade. Who knows?
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