Was Falcons TE Kyle Pitts Playing Injured This Season?
For a player with as much talent as him, Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts hasn't had the start to his career that he may have envisioned.
The former Florida Gators star, who became the highest-drafted tight end in NFL history when the Falcons took him fourth overall in 2021, showed great promise in his rookie season with 1,026 yards, the third-most at his position. While he's found the end zone more since then, he hasn't had the same production in terms of yards or receptions.
In fact, Pitts has fewer yards in his last two seasons combined than he did as a rookie.
Kyle Pitts
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Granted, there have been numerous factors working against Pitts recently. Be it misuse by now-former coach Arthur Smith, poor quarterback play, and perhaps most notably, injuries.
Pitts was limited to just 10 games last season after tearing his MCL, and according to a recent Instagram post, the injury and subsequent surgery may have affected him long into this season as well.
"All 17 games post MCL/PCL surgery. We taking that as the first Win and THEN had my beautiful son," Pitts wrote. "To all my brothers, Love y’all because we went through our fair share of stressors but stood tall for each other! Year 4 is going to be prolific."
Pitts' injury struggles can perhaps best be illustrated by his in his yards per game stat. He averaged 39.2 yards per game this season, which is much closer to his injury-plagued 2022 season (35.6) than his fully-healthy rookie campaign (60.4). The fact that he had fewer targets also plays into that stat, but either way, it's indicative of some struggles.
At just 23 years old, Pitts still has plenty of time to right the ship for his career. If he doesn't rebound next season, though, he may have to continue his career outside of Atlanta.
