There is one player the Tampa Bay Buccaneers never want to see ever again: Kyle Pitts.
The Atlanta Falcons' superstar tight end has absolutely wrecked them throughout his career. They have failed to slow him down as he has put up seemingly half of his career stats in those two matchups each year.
Now, they have to deal with him for another six matchups, at least, after he signed a three-year, $54 million extension that'll leave him under contract in Atlanta through 2028. If he played the Bucs every Sunday, he would shatter the $18 million a year he's set to make on his new deal.
Buccaneers are the biggest losers in Falcons' extension of Kyle Pitts
We all know that Pitts has had a rocky career in the NFL. His rookie season was superb, but then he ran into a deadly knee injury as a sophomore and didn't regain his confidence until last season. Despite that, he has always circled the Buccaneers on the calendar for whatever reason.
The fifth-year player has played eight games against Tampa (missed both matchups in 2022) and has 44 catches on 57 targets for 629 yards and six touchdowns. While his per-game metrics are good, not great, he has feasted on them lately.
Everyone remembers last season's miracle comeback in primetime that the sixth-year tight end led the Falcons to. He finished with 11 catches on 12 targets for 166 yards and three touchdowns -- it was truly a once-in-a-generation performance at his position.
When you combine that with the prior three games, things get unbelievable. He has 29 catches on 33 targets for 404 yards and five touchdowns -- only one pass his direction in each game was incomplete. His efficiency and scoring is through the roof in these inter-divisional matchups.
We know that Pitts has struggled crossing the goal line consistently. He has just 15 touchdowns in five years, but five of them have come against the Buccaneers -- a team that represents just 10% of the games he has played.
There is clearly an issue Todd Bowles has stopping the big-framed threat. Fortunately for Atlanta, that is likely to continue because their new head coach knows how to use the position.
Previous offensive coordinator and new Bucs OC Zac Robinson struggled putting his players in their best position. Despite that, he helped guide Pitts to an all-time performance. If he can do that, just imagine what Stefanski and Tommy Rees will be able to do...
Hopefully, the quarterback position will come through. Kirk Cousins was the guy that led Pitts to a career game, and now he will look to do the same with Michael Penix Jr. or Tua Tagovailoa.
We Falcons fans are all glad to have the former fourth-overall pick back for three more years, but the same can't be said for all the people inside the Buccaneers' organization.
Add us as a preferred source on Google