The Philadelphia Eagles don’t want to pay $15 million for 30-year-old tight end Dallas Goedert in 2025.
That’s not an indicator of how the Eagles view Goedert in the grand scheme of things. He was critical in their run to a Super Bowl last season and shook off injuries during the regular season with 17 receptions for 215 yards and 1 touchdown in 4 postseason games. He’s been one of the NFL’s best tight ends for almost a decade.
Now, the Eagles reportedly want to trade Goedert, and if Philadelphia is willing to give up some of their stockpile of draft picks — 20 over the next 2 seasons – there’s a way they might be able to get Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts in return.
Getting Pitts wouldn’t require a long-term commitment by the Eagles, either. He only has one season left on his 4-year, $32.9 million rookie contract after the Falcons picked up his fifth-year option at $10.8 million for 2025.
Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon put Pitts on his list of “NFL Stars Who Could Actually Be Traded” on April 11.
“This is another example of a talented young player entering a contract year and possibly needing a new environment to excel,” Gagnon wrote. “In this case, the Atlanta Falcons could decide that a top-five pick with just 10 touchdowns in four seasons isn’t working for them and that with all the talent they have elsewhere on offense, Kyle Pitts isn’t worth keeping at a cost of $10.9 million as his rookie contract ends.”
The trade market for Pitts might not heat up until after the draft. Teams might want to see where the handful of plug-and-play starters/contributors at the position land, led by a pair of likely first round picks in Penn State tight end Tyler Warren and Michigan tight end Colston Loveland.
One starting point for the Eagles to land Pitts might be to offer Goedert packaged with a 2025 or 2026 third round pick and go from there.
From Coveted Prospect to Underwhelming Career
It’s not hyperbole to say Pitts was the most coveted tight end prospect in NFL history.
Pitts, 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds, was a 2-time All-SEC pick and won the John Mackey Award in 2020 at the University of Florida, where he had 100 receptions for 1,492 yards and 18 touchdowns in just 32 games over three seasons. He sent NFL executives and head coaches into a further frenzy when he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.40 seconds at Pro Day.
“Pitts may have the traits and talent to create mismatches similar to those created by Calvin Johnson and Tyreek Hill,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote in his pre-draft evaluation. “His rare blend of size, athleticism and ball skills are reminiscent of Megatron … Along with Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence, Pitts has a chance to become the biggest game-changer in the 2021 NFL Draft.”
Pitts started his NFL career on a heater, making the Pro Bowl as a rookie with 68 receptions, 1,206 yards and 1 touchdown. In the 3 seasons since, he’s consistently been one of the NFL’s most disappointing players with an average of 42 receptions, 541 yards and 3 touchdowns per season.
The Falcons haven’t done much to help Pitts, either. The franchise hasn’t made the playoffs or had a winning season since 2017.
