SI's Albert Breer Pours Cold Water on Potential Kyle Pitts Trade for Atlanta Falcons

Though he's been present for team meetings throughout the offseason and is missing OTA practices only because of a foot injury, Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts remains a hot commodity in trade rumors.

Perhaps he shouldn't be.

Sports Illustrated insider Albert Breer wrote in his mailbag Wednesday he doesn't expect Pitts to be moved.

"I’m just not sure I see a match right now," Breer wrote. "This seems to me like the sort of story that only gains steam in June. ... At this point, the discussion probably isn’t worth the oxygen people are giving it."

Pitts, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, caught 47 passes for 602 yards and four touchdowns last season. He's entering the final year of his rookie contract and will earn $10.88 million guaranteed on his fifth-year option.

The 24-year-old Pitts's contract presents one roadblock to a deal, Breer said, as does his statistical decline since eclipsing 1,000 yards in his rookie season.

"He’s no longer valued like he was by anyone as he had been before the 2021 draft," Breer wrote. "And now he’s playing on a $10.88 million fifth-year option. This means another team would have to have a pretty high level of confidence it could get more out of him than the Falcons.

"More likely is that another team would view acquiring Pitts as taking a flier on a player who hasn’t lived up to expectations. It’s unlikely, as I see it, that such a team would be willing to give up the kind of pick that would entice Atlanta to deal him and pay him almost $11 million."

Then, there's the Falcons' roster situation.

Pitts certainly has a role as a versatile pass catcher in Atlanta's offense -- and the tight end room around him doesn't offer much else in the aerial attack.

Aside from Pitts, the Falcons have five tight ends on their roster: Charlie Woerner, Feleipe Franks, Teagan Quitoriano, Nikola Kalinic and undrafted rookie Joshua Simon.

Woerner, who's well-renowned for his blocking prowess, set a career high with seven receptions last season. Franks, a quarterback-turned-tight end and special teams standout, has made one career catch.

Quitoriano started four of seven appearances with the Houston Texans last season but didn't see any targets; his career-best mark is seven catches as a rookie in 2022. Kalinic started two of seven games played with the Indianapolis Colts in 2022 and made two appearances with the Los Angeles Rams last season, but he hasn't recorded any offensive statistics.

The best pass-catching option behind Pitts is the rookie Simon, who in 2024 caught 40 passes for 519 yards and seven touchdowns, becoming the first tight end in the University of South Carolina's history to lead the team in all three categories.

Atlanta is fond of Simon -- but as a long-term piece. Expecting Simon, who hasn't so much as put on pads in an official NFL practice, to reach Pitts's numbers this fall would be an ill-advised and, frankly, unrealistic move for a team with playoff aspirations.

It's early June, and rumors tend to run rampant during this time of the offseason calendar. Perhaps those rumors should stay away from Pitts.