Kyle Pitts missing OTAs with foot injury while trade rumors swirl

Kyle Pitts was supposed to be a generational tight end, but he has not climbed to those heights yet. After posting the third-highest receiving yardage total among tight ends in 2021 and falling just short of Mike Ditka’s all-time rookie record—a mark Brock Bowers shattered in 2024—Pitts suffered a major injury in 2022 and finished 11th and 13th in 2023 and 2024 at his position in terms of yards. That’s good—and Pitts has shown flashes of brilliance in there—but it’s not what the Falcons used the fourth overall pick to get.

Pitts is still just 24 years old and has a long career sitting in front of him, but his time with the Atlanta Falcons might be shorter. We’ve idly speculated about a trade for a bit now, but with Pitts missing practice at OTAs and reports that he’s a trade target for other teams, it’s difficult not to at least mull the possibility. The question is whether a team would provide enough value to offset the still-high hopes the Falcons have for him.

On Monday, Raheem Morris offered an update on Pitts’ status, saying he remains out with an injury that has has been reported as a foot muscle strain, though Morris didn’t go into that level of detail. He took care to praise Pitts, per ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, and tried to make it clear the Falcons were holding him out due to an abundance of caution.

“Extremely cautious with Kyle right now and what he’s got going on,” Morris said. “Obviously, don’t talk about injuries this time of year, but definitely being cautious with him, so you won’t see him. He’s been here, he’s done such a great job. ... He’s been in every single thing that we’ve done other than the field, and he’s been absolutely outstanding to be around.”

This is the right tone to strike if Pitts is actually being shopped, though reports have made it sound like teams are unlikely to meet Atlanta’s asking price, whatever that may be. I’d imagine if a team lobbed a second round pick over the wall, the Falcons would be hard-pressed to say no. Pitts is, after all, a free agent after this season. It just seems like the Falcons won’t get that kind of slam-dunk deal, meaning they’d have to be motivated to move him.

I’m not sure they are. For all of the ups and downs with Pitts, he offers that length, speed, and at least occasional ability to make someone pay in the open field, particularly when working deep. That will have real utility for Michael Penix, who will be looking to throw that dang ball downfield as often as possible, and the fact that teams have to contend with Pitts while worrying about Drake London, Darnell Mooney, and Bijan Robinson creates opportunities to exploit matchups and sow confusion. I think all the praise and the talk of Pitts needing to heighten his game suggest he’ll be here in 2025 for one final shot at putting together the career in Atlanta we all wanted him to have, with a long-term deal from the Falcons at stake.

For now, the only certainty is uncertainty, whether we’re talking about a Pitts injury, a Pitts trade, or a potential Pitts breakout. We’ll hope to get updates about his health and whether he’s staying for certain soon, but seeing whether this will be the long-awaited breakout year in 2025 will have to wait a little longer.