- 1 day ago
Falcons TE Kyle Pitts officially put pen to paper today on his new 3-year, $54 million extension and spoke to media afterward including 92.9 The Game's Falcons Insider Joe Patrick. Patrick joins the show to discuss what led the Falcons to making the decision and why he could be primed for his best year yet.
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00:00We are Dukes and Bell. We start off every day and every hour by saying, hey man, it's good to
00:05have you listening to Atlanta's number one sports station, it's number one sports show.
00:09And guys, news today coming out of Hawks camp, or at least the Hawks organization, is that they have declined
00:16the option of Jonathan Kaminga.
00:18I think a lot of people are surprised. We will talk more about this because I think, Mike, the notion
00:23was, of course, they pick up the option.
00:25I thought it made financial sense, but I want to say this before we talk to Joe Patrick.
00:30By declining the team option, we, Atlanta, the Hawks now have access to the full $15 million non-tax mid
00:39-level exemption.
00:40This is going to allow them to have some more flexibility.
00:43So we're $27 million below the tax, but we're $35 million below the first apron.
00:49That's what I was telling you that Tony Ressler and this organization doesn't want to be in quite yet because
00:54we're not, again, one player away.
00:56If we continue to build, we'll eventually get there.
00:59But, Mike, from a salary cap standpoint, we're in a great position, and it also allows us to go pursue
01:05a big.
01:06Right.
01:07Now, real quick, and we're going to get to Joe.
01:09It's not, and I already had a couple guys go, there's a wrestler.
01:12He's not doing it.
01:12He's not spending money throwing nickels around like manhole covers.
01:16Hope you don't talk like that.
01:17But, no, two things can be true.
01:19I wanted to see a larger sample size for Kaminga and Snyder's offense.
01:22If it doesn't pan out, you trade him at the deadline.
01:24I thought that was a safe play.
01:26But if you feel that, look, remember, Ansi Saleh came from Golden State.
01:29He was familiar with Jonathan Kaminga.
01:30This wasn't like a pet project of his where he's going to force it down Snyder's throat.
01:34They saw what they saw.
01:35They decided to move on.
01:36So I kind of like, I'm not saying Ansi's cold-blooded, but we all thought, well, maybe he knows something
01:41about Kaminga.
01:42Others don't, right?
01:43Well, he didn't waste time.
01:44He didn't.
01:45Moved on.
01:45It's very interesting, but I think it tells you a little bit about the mindset of this front office.
01:50We'll talk more about that.
01:51Joe Patrick is here, and Joe, I appreciate you.
01:54I know you've been up there at Flowery Branch, and today it became official.
01:57Kyle Pitts signs his deal.
01:59So we wanted to just talk to you a little bit about this and get your thoughts on this Kyle
02:02Pitts situation with the Falcons.
02:05First and foremost, Joe, how do you see this deal?
02:08Some people say, did we overpay?
02:10Is it too much for Kyle Pitts?
02:11How do you see the contract itself?
02:14Yeah, I mean, obviously it's an expensive deal.
02:16I think the way that these things get reported nowadays, when everything is some sort of record with the way
02:21that the salary cap is inflating,
02:23and this one being, you know, what was it, the highest paid tight end contract on a three-year deal
02:29specifically.
02:30So these kinds of things always kind of make people's hair kind of raised if they feel a certain kind
02:36of way about it.
02:37But when you ultimately got into the brass tacks of what the contract looked like and his situation as it
02:41existed,
02:42it's not much more of a commitment that the Falcons are really making here.
02:46They're making one year of additional guarantees to Kyle Pitts, and then potentially a third year where they would pay
02:52him again,
02:52$18 million in each of these years.
02:54And I frankly think that we could get to that.
02:57There's a very real chance we could get to that third year, and $18 million looks like a bargain.
03:02I know that sounds crazy because of, you know, him being one of the highest paid tight ends now at
03:07this point.
03:07But there's going to be more tight ends that start to get paid here, guys,
03:10when you talk about some of the top ones around the league who really haven't gotten those big contracts.
03:14And I think, frankly, Kyle could be one of those guys who really flourishes in this Kevin Stefanski-Tommy Reese
03:20offense
03:20that's going to have, I think, a lot more opportunity for him.
03:23And I think that that's where it gets really interesting where you dig into kind of how he was used
03:27initially,
03:27what the idea was for Kyle Pitts when he was drafted by Arthur Smith,
03:31where he was really used very evenly as an inline tight end, slot receiver, wide receiver even.
03:38And then how he was used under Raheem Morris and Zach Robinson,
03:41where he was one of the most inline tight ends in the NFL last year at 57% of his
03:47snaps.
03:48And that's a great question.
03:49I mean, I'm going to ask you a great question, but a great point, and I'll give you a question
03:52on it, Joe,
03:54is with the depth chart and the way we've got guys that are kind of more the prototypical blocking tight
03:58ends,
03:59you know, with Charlie Warner, although Austin Hooper can do a bit of both,
04:02is this the year that he becomes Tony Gonzalez and it's all one-dimensional?
04:06I mean, possibly. We'll see.
04:08I was talking to Andy and Randy a little bit about this last week where, you know,
04:14this Kevin Stefanski offense is likely going to feature a lot more two tight ends.
04:18And so tight ends, you know, there's the tight end positions of Y, right?
04:22You have your X receiver, your Z receiver, you have the Y who is the tight end,
04:26and then usually in these modern, in these offenses, you have an F,
04:29and that is called like a force player.
04:31So an F can be a Ray Ray McLeod as a third receiver,
04:35or it can be a second tight end like a Kyle Pitts.
04:38And I think that if he's playing more in that F role,
04:42I think he's going to get a lot more opportunities to be put in motion,
04:44to get better releases, to be the primary receiver on a lot of these, on a lot of plays.
04:50I just think that this offense is generally going to be tailored more towards,
04:54not towards him specifically, but just towards his skill set and what he brings.
04:58I think that that's really going to be shown to a greater level than what he was asked to do
05:04really under Raheem Morris and Zach Robinson.
05:06I think Kyle, you know, I think he frankly was quite humble and just accepting the job.
05:11He talked about that when he was talking about the contract today in the press conference,
05:14just saying that he wants to just do whatever is asked of him to the best of his ability.
05:18That is kind of his goal.
05:21And I think that he did the hard work there last year, the last couple of years,
05:25but he's going to have more opportunities to really flourish
05:28and do a lot of the things that obviously you want to see in a player who was drafted as
05:32highly as he was.
05:33Joe Patrick is our guest, guys.
05:35He covers the Falcons here on Sports Radio 92.9 The Game
05:37and does a variety of other things, as you guys hear, Joe, throughout the course of the NFL season.
05:42He was up there today at Flowery Branch.
05:43I want to ask you about Matt Ryan's influence on this decision
05:47because you guys asked him about Matt, and he talked about, you know, Matt being the same guy.
05:53Joe, how much do you think he played a role in this when you say,
05:57do we give him this deal or do we let him play it out?
06:01Yeah, you know, it's a great point, Carl.
06:03And, by the way, I have to be clear, this is a virtual press conference,
06:06so I'm actually, I felt like the guy in True Lies or, like, the Matrix or something
06:09where I'm working the computer helping you guys on the show on one screen
06:13while I've got a Kyle Pitts press conference going on the other
06:15and trying to kind of keep it all going.
06:17But, yeah, I mean, I think Matt Ryan has obviously been a huge influence
06:20in Kyle Pitts' career in particular, you know, as his quarterback, his rookie year,
06:25where he had one of his best years.
06:26And then, you know, when they're sitting around a table talking about, you know,
06:30this decision and whether we think that this is the right move to give him this deal,
06:36you have to think that Matt Ryan's input was taken very strongly in that conversation.
06:41Not that he's the one making the decisions.
06:43You know, again, he definitely lets guys do their jobs.
06:46But who would know better than, you know, how a player like Pitts prepares himself week to week,
06:52how he's seen him grow over the course of this period of time.
06:56Certainly he was super influential.
06:58And I thought it was funny what Kyle said, and I know that you mentioned it, Carl,
07:01but he's like, Matt's the same guy.
07:02He'll still curse you out, you know, if you feel like you need it.
07:05Or he'll, like, you know, put his arm around your shoulder if he thinks he needs it.
07:08And that's just the kind of intuition that I think a former NFL quarterback has,
07:12and that's the great thing that someone like that can bring to his role
07:16as the person who's in charge of his entire operation.
07:19It's the cool thing about, you know, Matt,
07:20to hopefully doing what we've seen John Lynch do with the 49ers.
07:23Great that they haven't got it over the finish line for a Super Bowl,
07:25but they changed the culture back up in San Fran.
07:28Matt knows this team, knows what we need.
07:31Don't have a quarterback just yet.
07:32Do you think they want to see Michael Penix Jr.?
07:34I mean, it's Joe Smokin' Joe Patrick with his guys in the Sweet James accident attorney hotline.
07:38Do you think they, if there was a, if you got him at gunpoint,
07:41and don't do that, Joe, that'd be bad.
07:42And then you'd be a former Lions player.
07:45But no, do you feel that if you asked him and gave truth serum,
07:49who's the quarterback they want winning this job?
07:52Oh, man.
07:53So, like, the thing is, I know this is something that, like,
07:56people are going to kind of, you know, roll their eyes at maybe,
07:59but, like, I don't think they care.
08:03I don't think they care who wins the job.
08:05They just want to win.
08:06And I think that this actually gets to something, Mike,
08:08that I think a lot of people are getting wrong about the Falcon team
08:11as it currently is and where they're going.
08:13I see so much talk about the Falcons kind of rebuilding or, you know,
08:19kind of resetting.
08:20And that makes sense.
08:21Under a new regime, you know,
08:22they're going to have opinions of certain players and things.
08:24But ultimately, I think the reason why Kevin Stefanski is here,
08:27the reason why there's a new regime,
08:29is because they felt like this team should have been in the playoffs
08:31probably each of the last two years.
08:33I mean, even as disappointing as last year was,
08:35the reason it was disappointing is because the team was falling short
08:38in very kind of simple, clear ways, like on special teams, et cetera,
08:42that, you know, if they don't make those mistakes,
08:44then they would be in the playoffs.
08:46So I think that they want to win football games,
08:48and they're just going to pick the quarterback that gives them
08:51the best chance to do that.
08:52Now, as far as the competition goes,
08:53I know you guys have talked about it so much,
08:55and the fact that Michael Penix is not really yet competing.
08:58And I think it's just worth kind of going back
09:00and kind of just thinking about how we are in the nine-month recovery
09:07from this ACL before you can get back to playing.
09:10Nine months from when Michael Penix tore his ACL will be kind of late August.
09:15So that just goes to show, first of all, how well he's done in his rehab
09:19and how quickly he was able to get back on the field.
09:21But also, hopefully, it kind of sets into reality for some people.
09:25Like, there is still, you know, a process for him to really get back
09:28to full-speed football, and I see a lot of people saying, like,
09:31oh, well, you should put him in there week one
09:33because you need to see how he's playing.
09:35I mean, we'll see.
09:36We'll see how training camp goes.
09:37But I think that that would be really, really pushing it
09:39if he's really eligible, basically, kind of physically eligible
09:44to even play in week one.
09:46All right, Joe.
09:48Lots of good things happening with this football team, man.
09:50There's no doubt about it.
09:52And I think the expectations are high,
09:55and they should be, but I will say this,
09:57and I know Kyle answered this question.
09:59We'll let you hear Kyle coming up here in about 15 minutes.
10:01But he talked about, is there more pressure on him?
10:04Do you feel like there's more pressure on him to produce?
10:08You know, he says no, but I have to think that, yes.
10:11I mean, and maybe to credit to Kyle that he's able to kind of put all the talk
10:15that Falcon fans have about him because, gosh, he's so polarizing
10:19for whatever reason, you know, probably because of the draft,
10:22where he was drafted as one of the reasons.
10:24But, you know, he, I think, kind of doesn't pay attention to that.
10:27But I think from our perspective and from fans' perspective,
10:31they're certainly going to want to see him produce.
10:33And ultimately, they do need him to produce.
10:35Like, if we're just being honest, like, if you're paying somebody money,
10:38you know, that's value, and you need value back, you know,
10:42in yards on the field and receptions and things like that.
10:45So, you need that value in return for what you're paying Kyle Pitts.
10:49Whether that's actually going to add pressure, we'll see.
10:51But it does seem like he's in a better headspace this year based on just, like,
10:55what he went through last year and the way that he finished last season
10:58and his relationship with Kevin Coger going into this year.
11:01So, I think Kyle is primed to have as good of a year as he's had going into this season.
11:05All right, buddy.
11:06Great stuff, as always.
11:07Appreciate the time today and appreciate the info, man.
11:12I'm excited for camp.
11:13You can't wait, right, Joe?
11:14I know you can't.
11:15Always.
11:15Oh, I can't wait to be out there sweating my butt off, you know,
11:18four or five days a week.
11:19It's going to be great.
11:20Not to mention some of these midday practices that Stefanski's going to be doing.
11:24It's going to be hot.
11:25It's going to be hot.
11:26Yep.
11:26I'm going to have one of these.
11:27I'm hiding ready now.
11:28I'm applying sunscreen already.
11:29I was going to say, I'm wondering if they're, because the afternoon practice,
11:32are they going to have one of these, like, RVs you go into that have those cooling systems in them?
11:37Have you seen that, Joe?
11:38Do you know what I'm talking about?
11:39Yeah, I do.
11:40I do.
11:41And, yeah, I hope they do.
11:43That would be great if they have something like that for us.
11:46I love it, Joe.
11:46We'll see.
11:47D-Lad here.
11:48I want a kiddie pool if I'm going to be out there in that kind of heat.
11:52Joe Patrick, thanks so much, man.
11:53We'll talk to you soon.
11:55All right.
11:55Sounds good.
11:56Thanks, guys.
11:56Good stuff.
11:57Kyle Pitts speaking today.
11:58And we'll let you hear what he said about his mental approach and his relationship with his tight ends coach
12:03and all of that.
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