Getty Kyle Pitts No.8 of the Atlanta Falcons.
Atlanta Falcons star tight end Kyle Pitts has been ruled out for the remainder of the season, the team announced on Wednesday, November 30.
The decision comes after Pitts underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair the MCL in his right knee, head coach Arthur Smith told reporters.
The road back begins
Despite missing the rest of the 2022 season, Smith is confident that Pitts’ injury won’t affect him for the 2023 season.
“Nothing that concerns us going into 2023,” Smith said.
Pitts Played Through A Lot This Season
Pitts suffered the knee injury in Week 11’s 27-24 win over the Chicago Bears.
According to head coach Arthur Smith, Pitts had already been playing through a lot this season, including a lingering hamstring injury.
The Falcons’ 2021 fourth-overall pick, has 28 receptions for 356 yards with a pair of touchdowns in 2022 so far. While those numbers are far off from his 1,000-yard rookie season, Smith believes Pitts has played a pivotal role in Atlanta’s offense over the last two seasons.
“People just look at the stats, and his impact on winning has been enormous for us,” Smith said, via ESPN. “There are certainly times we haven’t been in sync and the way we play at times where you do have to sacrifice some passing numbers.
“The guy is a great teammate. He doesn’t pout like a lot of guys with that amount of hype because he’s a real person and that’s why we love him. He’s a real teammate, and the future is really bright for him and that’s why we’re so excited to have him in this organization.”
With Pitts out for the remainder of the season, the Falcons have turned to tight ends MyCole Pruitt, Anthony Firkser and Parker Hesse. We’ve even seen fullback Keith Smith and running back Cordarrelle Patterson step up in his place.
Pruitt Stepping Up for Pitts as Top TE
Pruitt’s role has significantly increased with Pitts sidelined.
We caught a glimpse of him as a top target in Sunday’s loss to Washington, where he caught a touchdown pass from Marcus Mariota.
Pruitt and Mariota had already played together at Tennessee with Smith before coming to Atlanta this offseason. Mariota has a lot of faith in Pruitt’s abilities.
“He doesn’t get a lot of credit, and he deserves a whole lot,” Mariota said ahead of Week 11’s matchup. “Not only does he block at the point of attack and do a lot of different things for us … Unfortunately, with Kyle going down, he had to step into a bigger role and had a huge play for us on one of those keepers.
“It’s kind of fun for me – I’ve known MyCole since we were in Tennessee together, and I have complete faith and trust in him. He’s done a lot of the dirty jobs and it’s cool to see him have success today.”
Since entering the league in 2015, the 30-year-old has appeared in 87 career games with 29 starts. He’s logged 528 yards and nine touchdowns. So far this season, Pruitt has played in eight games, made two starts, and caught six passes for 40 yards and two scores.