Homan makes spectacular triple takeout to escape big jam vs. Team Sweden — and more

The Atlanta Falcons rarely use the franchise tag, but this is a new front office and a new era. It’s also the first time in recent memory that a young player is about to hit free agency that would seem to merit the tag.

I’m referring, of course, to Kyle Pitts. Fresh off career highs in receptions and touchdowns and heading into his age 26 season, Pitts will be a hot commodity in free agency after a breakout campaign and his third straight season playing all 17 games. While the ideal outcome for the Falcons would be a long-term deal if they’re looking to keep him around, the one-year tag price just north of $16 million is not exorbitant for a player who would essentially be the team’s de facto #2 receiver.

This is relevant because the franchise tag window opened today, meaning the Falcons can tag Pitts any time between now and March 3 if they’d like to. There is ample reason to believe they will.

Why?

• Kevin Stefanski’s offense prizes tight ends. From 2025 standout rookie Harold Fannin to David Njoku to Harrison Bryant to Austin Hooper, the Browns offense leaned heavily on tight ends during Stefanski’s tenure. In 2025, Fannin was the team’s top target and Njoku was third on the team in targets; in 2024 Njoku and Jordan Akins were third and fourth in that metric. While Drake London should be a target monster in Atlanta under Stefanski, he wants to have multiple pass catching tight ends to utilize, which means he’s not going to be keen to dump Pitts and have to go get two between free agency and the draft.
• Pitts is rounding into form. I know that some skepticism is going to linger for Pitts until he strings together two strong seasons in a row. After his rookie season, an injury robbed him of seven games in 2022, and a bounceback campaign in 2023 was followed by a bit of a pullback in production in 2024. But we saw Pitts put together his most complete season in 2025, and he’s just 25 years old today despite being in the league for five seasons. There’s every reason to believe that Pitts can, with volume and decent quarterbacking, be an annual threat for north of 80 catches and 800 yards; if Stefanski makes him a focal point of the offense his production could soar much higher than that.
• The state of the roster suggests he needs to be kept. The Falcons may not bring back Darnell Mooney, who is slated to be fairly expensive and is coming off a lost season. They don’t currently have another productive pass-catching tight end on the roster, and the possibility of losing Tyler Allgeier means they need to get Bijan Robinson an effective backup. There are a fair number of offensive holes to plug, in other words, in a solid-but-not-spectacular draft and free agent class. Are you going to get a more productive player or players for $16 million than Pitts? I suspect the Falcons believe they will not, and that having Bijan, London, and Pitts gives them a foundation Stefanski and company can work with.
• The Falcons freed up the money. The impending Kirk Cousins release will give the Falcons a little more cash to work with, but the restructure on his deal did that in the here and now. That was essential for them to spend early on in free agency, but it’s also essential if you’re looking to lock up Pitts before free agency opens. The Falcons simply didn’t have the money to do so before, and they’ve ensured they have the option, something I have to think was intentional.

New general manager Ian Cunningham was part of the Chicago Bears front office that used the franchise tag on Jaylon Johnson in 2024 as a way to lock down his rights while they worked out a new long-term deal, and I expect the Falcons to seriously consider doing the same thing with Pitts. While Pitts has few attachments to the new regime outside of tight ends coach Kevin Koger, Stefanski’s going to want to work with him, he’s familiar with the roster, the city, and the franchise, and there’s ample reason to believe he’ll be a featured part of the offense if he stays in Atlanta. The fact that the Falcons have the ability in their toolbox to ensure he doesn’t hit free agency and get an effectively unmatchable offer from, say, the Chiefs makes it logical to believe they’ll use it.

For many years, I simply let the franchise tag window pass without real comment because we knew the Falcons would not seriously consider utilizing it. This year, I think there’s a real chance the Falcons will use it on Pitts, and if so, we should know sooner than later.

wf_cms.rss.read_more