Atlanta Falcons tight end Austin Hooper will head to Orlando, Florida, next weekend to compete in the 2020 NFL Pro Bowl. The 25-year-old former third-round pick of the Falcons earns his second Pro-Bowl selection, this time alternating, per ESPN's Vaughn McClure, with San Francisco 49ers star tight end George Kittle preparing for Super Bowl LIV in Miami against the Kansas City Chiefs in two weeks.

Hooper, a Stanford product, had a career year during the Falcons' unremarkable 2019 regular-season campaign. He recorded career bests in catches, receiving yards, and touchdowns, with 75 receptions for 787 yards, scoring six touchdowns in 13 games this season.

Hooper is actually a free agent for the 2020 NFL offseason and apparently he hadn't received a contract offer from Atlanta as of earlier this month.

“I’m not going to speak on that too much,” Hooper said when asked about his contract via AJC.com. “It’s a business. I’m open to coming back here. I don’t know … I haven’t received an offer yet. If I do, I’d definitely like to be here, but at the same time, it’s a business. I’m going to let my representation and the representation for the Falcons handle that.”

While Hooper has enjoyed sustained success at tight end for the Falcons, the future may not be a good fit as the free agent seeks a maximum cohesion between payday and on-field competition. Atlanta only went 7-9 during the regular season, failing to reach the playoffs, and looked distinctly terrible through most of the year, including an early-season six-game losing streak and losing seven of their first eight games, before winning six of their final eight second-half games.

Hooper, representing the Falcons at the Pro Bowl at tight end, could see the trip to Orlando as possibly his last time standing in for the franchise.