Atlanta Falcons fans can consider tight end Kyle Pitts officially back.
The Falcons official Twitter account first teased fans with that possibility. In the early afternoon on July 19, the Falcons posted a short video of the tight end working out on Twitter.
Hours later, Pitts revealed in his Instagram story that he will not be starting training camp on the PUP list.
“Ain’t no pup list for me,” the tight end wrote in his social media post, which included a picture of the inside of his orange Mercedes.
In addition to being amazed about the inside of Pitts’ car, Falcons fans on Twitter were thrilled to hear the tight end is ready to go.
It’s hard to overstate how great of news this is for the Falcons. The former 2021 No. 4 overall pick posted 68 receptions and 1,026 receiving yards in 17 games as a rookie. But chemistry issues with quarterback Marcus Mariota and then a knee injury prevented Pitts from being much of a factor last season.
In 10 games, Pitts posted 28 receptions, 356 yards and 2 touchdowns last year. He spent the final six weeks of the season on injured reserve.
The Falcons need Pitts to be a major factor in the receiving game this season if they are going to win the NFC South. Fellow first-round picks Drake London and Bijan Robinson are playmakers that the Falcons have added over the past two years. But Atlanta is still thin at receiver.
Head coach Arthur Smith also loves running double-tight end sets. In order to do that and offset the lack of wideout depth, the Falcons need a healthy Pitts.
Not only does it appear that he will be full go for the regular season, he’s 100% for training camp.
Yes he’s back and I think with another competent QB he can put up decent numbers again. Great article as always Scott
Thanks Smitty. I had to laugh listening to Ridder saying Pitts and London were hard to miss.