Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts has been working to strengthen his relationship with quarterback Michael Penix Jr. by spending time together off the field, including playing golf with kicker Younghoe Koo and other teammates. Pitts told Marc Raimondi of ESPN, “Most of the time we go out early, so it’s just me, him and [kicker Younghoe] Koo, and maybe a couple of other guys, where it’s just us out there and we’re just playing fast and just enjoying the time. (…) Just like how you say, not thinking about football. So that’s a big thing for us, just hearing the birds chirp and playing music and talking about everything but football.”
Pitts said he draws inspiration from examples set by other tight ends who developed close connections with their quarterbacks. He mentioned, “Just being younger, I like to just watch older people, so seeing Travis [Kelce] and Patrick [Mahomes], seeing when Matt [Ryan] was here, Matt and Tony [Gonzalez]. (…) Just all of the great quarterbacks who were successful had a great relationship with their tight end. So, just seeing that and learning from other guys, that’s something I kind of authentically wanted to grow with him, and it’s pretty cool.”
On building chemistry with Pitts both on and off the field, Penix said, “I feel like our connection is great, not just what we’ve been doing so far on the field, but off the field as well, because of that. (…) And each and every day, even when we’re golfing, we talk football, too, every now and then. Just talking about different plays, different routes, and stuff like that. So I feel like that time away from football, we still kind of in that mindset like, OK, yeah, we out here having fun golfing, but we know what’s the real thing we need to work on and make sure we continue to get better at each and every day and we’ve been doing a great job with it.”
In Carolina Panthers news, defensive tackle Derrick Brown discussed his return from a knee injury that kept him sidelined for the 2024 season. Brown told reporters via PanthersWire.com: “I was just definitely anxious especially coming back from camp (…) As soon as I got back I got the oblique injury. Knee’s been good. I think a big thing for me was just making it through a whole week. Traveling with the team on Wednesday practicing on Thursday during the walkthroughs and everything and just being able to finish out the week and the game. I think it was a lot of pestering all week leading up to that. I definitely sat on the sideline in high anticipation the week before for the Cleveland game. Didn’t practice. So getting back out there was awesome.”
For New Orleans Saints fans awaiting word on the starting quarterback position heading into this season’s games under head coach Kellen Moore—Moore stated they have not made a decision yet regarding their starter at quarterback after preseason action.
