The Atlanta Falcons will be without a key contributor for the rest of the 2022 season.
The team ruled out star tight end Kyle Pitts for the remainder of the year. Falcons head coach Arthur Smith spoke to the media on Wednesday and revealed that Pitts had surgery and is on the shelf until 2023.
Falcons reporter Tori McElhaney tweeted, “Arthur Smith rules Kyle Pitts out for the year following his surgery.” She then quoted Smith, who said, “Nothing that concerns us going into 2023.”
Arthur Smith rules Kyle Pitts out for the year following his surgery.
"Nothing that concerns us going into 2023."
— Tori McElhaney (@tori_mcelhaney) November 30, 2022
Pitts was selected fourth overall by the Falcons in the 2021 NFL Draft. Production hasn’t met that draft slot, although there are circumstances for that. Pitts hasn’t been targeted a whole lot and hasn’t been able to really showcase his talent. His targets and receptions were greatly down from his rookie season this year. He caught 28 passes on 59 targets before he suffered the injury that will keep him out. In 2021, he caught 68 passes on 110 targets.
Players like Pitts don’t just grow on trees. The talented former Florida Gators star can stand to have more than just three touchdowns thus far in his career. For Pitts’ sake, Atlanta gets him really involved in his third season after he heals up in the offseason. For now, best wishes for a speedy recovery.
[Tori McElhaney on Twitter; photo from Dale Zanine/USA Today Sports]
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022