The second week of franchise tag availability is not going too well for the Patriots, as the Cowboys revealed their intention to tag wide receiver George Pickens on Monday, who was a prominent name in New England to fill their clear need at WR1.
The same can now be said about tight end Kyle Pitts, as NFL insider Ian Rapoport announced on Twitter/X not long after the Falcons' plan to tag the 25-year-old and formally remove him from the free agent market just two weeks before he was set to receive numerous calls from around the league.
It's a huge hit to the shortlist of players that Patriots fans were hoping would be making their way to New England for the 2026 season.
The #Falcons are planning to franchise tag standout TE Kyle Pitts, sources say, keeping their playmaker in the fold on a 1-year, fully guaranteed deal worth more than $15M.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 23, 2026
The hope is to work out a long-term deal rather than the tag. The two sides have until July to do it. pic.twitter.com/dwtlUbKxz7
Now, the Patriots will have to invest elsewhere to fix one of their more needy positions, as the possibility of Pitts being traded looks slim to none now.
The Patriots need to establish a new plan of attack for the tight end position ahead of free agency
It seems clear that Austin Hooper won't be returning to the team this fall, unless he takes on a more limited role, and instead, the Patriots will look for a younger player to pair with Hunter Henry in the tight end room.
Pitts looked like the right guy for the job, but now that he's staying in Atlanta, there will be other names to consider. The problem is that although the list is long, it's not filled with the caliber of players that the Patriots need, so they might have to explore a trade instead.
But until that becomes their clear path, there has been a lot of discussion about Chig Okonkwo, whom Mike Vrabel drafted to the Titans in 2022. He is set to hit free agency for the first time in his career next month, and while his stats aren't the most flashy, he could be a great fit for what the team needs moving forward.
Okonkwo would immediately be mentored by Henry and become the TE2 that the Patriots have mostly been lacking for several years. At just 26-years-old, he could learn and develop into the kind of tight end the offense needs, and he would have nobody better to learn from.
He might become the most prominent name at the position that the Patriots pursue, as their only other option is to probably pull off a trade. But if that's not in the cards, it wouldn't be surprising to see Vrabel bring back a player he liked enough to draft.