The NFL season is in its final week. As happens every year, injuries are rearing their ugly heads. As fantasy football managers prepare to set Week 18 lineups, it’s important to stay informed on the latest injury news. Kyle Pitts is dealing with a lingering knee injury. What is his current status and outlook for this week?
Is Kyle Pitts Playing Week 18?
Pitts has been dealing with a knee injury for several weeks now and has appeared on the Atlanta Falcons injury report in four consecutive weeks. Despite the ongoing issue, he has been able to suit up for each of the last three games and has been highly productive.
The tight end was listed as a limited participant at practice all week as he continues to manage the knee injury. This marks his fourth consecutive week being limited in practice due to the knee issue, though he has not missed any game time. The Falcons listed him as questionable on the final injury report for Sunday’s regular season finale against the New Orleans Saints.
Head coach Raheem Morris addressed Pitts’ status on Friday and said he is optimistic that Pitts will be able to suit up for Sunday’s season finale. Morris expressed the same optimism for wide receivers Drake London and Darnell Mooney, who are also dealing with knee injuries and carry questionable designations. Morris said Friday that all three players are expected to play in the NFC South matchup.
Pitts is definitely not operating at 100% given his continued presence on the injury report, but he continues to play through the knee issue. He had a disappointing showing in Week 17 against the Los Angeles Rams, securing just two of three targets for 16 yards. However, that performance was more about the overall offensive struggles than the knee injury, as quarterback Kirk Cousins completed just 13 passes in the entire game.
Fantasy managers should expect Pitts to suit up on Sunday and handle his normal workload. The pending unrestricted free agent will have no shortage of motivation to log a strong performance in the season finale. Pitts’ final status will be confirmed when the Falcons release their inactive list approximately 90 minutes before Sunday’s 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff.
Pitts’ Fantasy Football Outlook
We can agree that he’s sucked us back in, right?
I can’t remember a love/hate relationship as strong as the one fantasy managers have had with a 25-year-old as they do with Pitts and that makes him an interesting evaluation every season.
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Here’s where I stand: above average tools in a shaky spot with below average developmental traits.
In essence, I’m not sure the Falcons have operated with much of a plan lately and that makes it hard for the non-elite (those not named Drake London or Bijan Robinson in the case of Atlanta) to succeed on a consistent basis.
Yea yea, I’m sort of fence sitting, but that’s the reasonable thing to do. Pitts was a fine option for the first three months of this season before turning into peak Rob Gronkowski once we got past Thanksgiving. He’ll have a spot in my top-10 for 2026, but he’ll be closer to 10 than five due to a lack of clarity when it comes to the quality of target he’ll be seeing.
The 2025 NFL Draft class gave us a pair of tight ends that I’ll be ranking ahead of Pitts in 2026 and that means he only has so much potential to move up in my ranks as next season nears.
— PFSN Fantasy Analyst Kyle Soppe
