On Tuesday, the Atlanta Falcons signed veteran tight end Kyle Pitts to a three-year deal worth $54 million. The lucrative contract, that has $36 million guaranteed, shows the franchise’s commitment to the young tight end, and it also shows everyone Atlanta’s roster-building philosophy.
The Falcons have built an exciting young core through the Draft, and the franchise is now focused on keeping that core intact as the team enters a new era. The first step of that process was signing wide receiver Drake London to a four-year extension worth $141.05 million, which Atlanta did in early June. The next step was getting Pitts’ deal done.
Now, with London and Pitts locked up long term, everyone knows what’s next: a massive contract extension for star running back Bijan Robinson.
The Falcons now have done contract extensions with both Drake London and Kyle Pitts:
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 23, 2026
🏈Pitts: 3-years, $54M
🏈London: 4-years, $141.05M
RB Bijan Robinson is up next. pic.twitter.com/c0Ia8UZoLt
Falcons will now turn attention to Bijan Robinson with their commitment to young core
Both London and Pitts have been good in their young careers, and are totally deserving of their contracts, but there’s no denying that Bijan Robinson is the engine of Atlanta’s offense. While the franchise made sure to take care of the receiver and tight end first, it’s only a matter of time before the running back is paid.
Robinson does have two years left on his rookie deal, so Atlanta could just wait until next offseason, but since the team has been handling business this offseason, it’d make sense to just get things done with Robinson now. Additionally, the longer the Falcons wait, the more expensive the deal could get.
Whenever Atlanta decides to give Robinson his deal, what will matters most is that the team will have secured a talented young core that they are building everything around. The hope is that the group will lead the Falcons to success during their time together. The young group has had promising moments, but they are very clearly still figuring everything out.
The biggest thing that needs to be figured out is the quarterback position. The Falcons were hoping that Michael Penix Jr. would be one more big piece of the young core, and that very well could still be the case. However, between injuries and competition from Tua Tagovailoa, Penix’s future is up in the air.
Regardless, whoever emerges as the team’s starting quarterback will have some well-paid weapons to go to work with.
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