Regardless of how disappointing the Atlanta Falcons’ 2024 campaign ended, the team is focused on improvement as the 2025 NFL offseason approaches. General manager Terry Fontenot held his end-of-the-year press conference on Thursday and addressed a variety of topics, including Kyle Pitts.
The fourth-year tight end finished the season with 602 receiving yards and four touchdowns — the second-lowest yardage total of his career. Fontenot was asked about Pitts’ underwhelming year and didn’t make excuses.
“When you take a player that high in the draft, obviously you expect a certain level,” said Fontenot. “We understand Kyle had a really good rookie year, and he hasn’t equaled or exceeded that production since then. There’s no excuses we’re making about it.”
The Falcons general manager said it’s on the team to do everything possible to maximize Pitts’ ability. 2025 is the last year of the former No. 4 pick’s contract in Atlanta.
“Now at at this point, just like any player, Kyle has to do everything he can do to make sure he’s doing everything he can do this offseason to get the best version of himself. We have to make sure we’re supporting him and helping him develop in those areas and make sure we’re doing everything to get the best out of him so he can help this team win football games.”
Fontenot also talked about the future of Kirk Cousins, who was benched 14 games into a four-year contract. The Falcons will look into everything but it sounds like they would be okay with Cousins returning as the backup quarterback.
“We’re more than comfortable moving ahead with him as the backup. He’s handled himself extremely well through the entire process.”
Although, it seems like it would be best for all parties involved if the team moved on Cousins in 2025.
“We gave Kirk Cousins two years guaranteed,” said Fontenot. “When you do that, you expect to get high-level quarterback play for two seasons. We understand that that didn’t happen. Nobody was happy to make the switch at that time.”
