The Atlanta Falcons made a bold move by signing Kyle Pitts to a three-year, $54 million extension this summer. After all, he's picked up a reputation as one of the most volatile players in the NFL, and his performance in the season opener only confirmed just how frustrating he can get.
In the 20-13 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pitts didn't look like someone the Falcons just paid a truckload of money to: he was a complete non-factor With Cooper Rush starting, the star tight end laid a goose egg in the stat sheet-- he failed to even record a reception and was only targeted once.
That's not a way a competent offense utilizes a player they just made the third-highest paid tight end in the NFL--and the quarterback play shouldn't change that. Both Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa were injured, but for some reason, Rush didn't rely on Pitts even as a possible safety valve--so if they want to get their money's worth on this deal, Atlanta needs one of their starters back.
Kyle Pitts' rough season debut was the fault of the quarterback play
We all know by now that Kevin Stefanski loves tight ends, so why wasn't Kyle Pitts more involved? Why didn't he do more to scheme up touches for him? It makes no sense given the only person they tried to check the ball down to was Bijan Robinson, when the TE was supposed to take on that role.
Given how he was turning schemed touches into major chunk gains in the preseason finale against the Dolphins, it was a big surprise he didn't get more short-yardage work from Atlanta's short-term QB1. The entire offense needs a real starter back over Rush--but for Pitts' sake it's just as important.
We saw how Tagovailoa was hyper-targeting the 25-year-old during the preseason, and he and Penix flashed rapport at points across the last two seasons. And once one of them returns to the lineup, the downfield passing game will return--and that's the area where Pitts does most of his damage.
Penix said he'll return "real soon" from his torn ACL, and it seems that a Week 2 return is possible. And Tua should be back too, so once one of them is healthy, Rush's starting job is gone. It's clear the Florida product's catch-less game isn't his fault, but until an actual starter plays, we can't see if this extension was worth it.
The former top-five pick just offered another headache to the fantasy managers who believed it was finally his year. Yes, Colston Loveland also laid a goose egg, but the Bears dropped 59 points. The Falcons' offense had abysmal QB play and couldn't move the ball, so his catch-less game isn't his fault, but until they get their starters back, fantasy managers may have to keep Pitts on the bench.
If the Falcons want to get the most out of the Kyle Pitts extension and see him embark on another career year, they need to get one of Michael Penix Jr. or Tua Tagovailoa back in the lineup ASAP. Clearly Cooper Rush isn't the signal-caller getting the most out of their elite arsenal of weapons.
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