Where in the world did this Kyle Pitts game from?
As a rookie back in 2021, this is what Pitts looked like. But 2021 is the same calendar year that Philip Rivers played his most recent NFL game in. It's a long time ago.
Then came Thursday Night Football, Week 15 of the 2025 NFL season, for the Atlanta Falcons against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
And Pitts put together the best game he's had since his rookie season.
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The Falcons' first touchdown of the night was from Kirk Cousins to Pitts.
The Falcons' second touchdown of the night was from... Cousins to Pitts again.
And the Falcons' fourth TD of the night was, you guess it, Cousins to Pitts.
Pitts hadn't had a single 100-yard receiving game since his rookie season, but on this night, he soared past the century mark.
This all comes in a fascinating backdrop.
For one, the Falcons have already been eliminated from the playoffs. This is too late to impact the season.
But more notably, it's Pitts' final season of his rookie contract. He'll be a free agent when this campaign comes to an end.
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This night may have made him a lot of money.
It's not clear whether the Falcons want him back, but if they do, it just got more complicated.
They've seen the version of Pitts that was so good as a rookie. It hasn't shown up much, but he was clearly still in there somewhere.
The Falcons will have to decide whether they want to keep chasing that version of him in a new contract.
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