Atlanta Falcons coach provides injury update on former Florida star Kyle Pitts

Star Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts suffered an MCL injury that ended his season and could limit him during offseason workouts, but the Falcons are fully expecting him back for the season opener.

It’s unclear when Pitts might be able to return to action, and coach Arthur Smith didn’t provide a more concrete timeline.

“We fully anticipate everybody being ready to go Sept. 10,” Smith said, according to ESPN. “And so we’ll be smart.”

Pitts was widely expected to emerge as one of the biggest mismatch problems in the NFL when he was drafted out of Florida following the 2020 season. He was selected with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft by Atlanta, and he quickly made that pick look genius.

As a rookie, he broke Tony Gonzalez‘ franchise record for most receiving yards in a single season by a tight end. His 1,026 receiving yards made him only the second rookie in NFL history to top 1,000 yards as a tight end, joining Mike Ditka.

Pitts made a run at Ditka’s rookie record of 1,076 yards set in 1961 but came up a little short. Still, his season was good enough that he was named to the 2022 Pro Bowl, the first rookie tight end to make the Pro Bowl since Jeremy Shockey did it in 2002.

The second season for Pitts left a lot to be desired, though, marred by injuries. A hamstring injury caused him to miss a game early in the 2022 campaign and limited him significantly. Before his season-ending MCL injury, Kyle Pitts tallied just 28 catches for 356 yards and two touchdowns. He appeared in 10 games.

A healthy Pitts, obviously, is a different story.

The 6-foot-6, 245-pound tight end began to enter the national consciousness during his days at Florida, where he was a two-time first-team All-SEC selection and the 2020 John Mackey Award winner as the nation’s best tight end.

Pitts first burst onto the scene as Kyle Trask took over at quarterback at Florida, recording 54 catches for 549 yards and five touchdowns as a sophomore in 2019. He was even better during the COVID-impacted 2020 season, tallying 43 catches for 770 yards and 12 touchdowns.

He was elite enough as a matchup problem in the passing game that he was the first-ever tight end named a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the nation’s top receiver.

And if the MCL injury is behind Kyle Pitts going into 2023, the electric tight end could be poised to return to his rookie form.