The Falcons won't let tight end Kyle Pitts hit free agency.
Pitts got the franchise tag today, the team announced.
"We're not in the business of letting go really good players," Falcons General Manager Ian Cunningham said.
The tag means Pitts has the option to sign a one-year guaranteed contract at a salary of about $16 million for 2026, or he can try to work out a long-term contract with the Falcons. It's also still possible that the Falcons could agree to trade Pitts to another team that negotiates a long-term deal with him. If he hasn't signed a long-term deal by July 15, he could only play on a one-year deal for 2026.
The 25-year-old Pitts was the fourth overall pick of the 2021 NFL draft and has played out his five-year rookie contract. He has developed into a solid player, even if he has never made the kind of impact the Falcons expected him to make when they drafted him. The Falcons believe he has a lot of good football ahead of him.