The Atlanta Falcons have been one of the surprise teams early on in the 2022 NFL season. They are 2-2 and coming off an upset win over the Cleveland Browns. However, during the course of the game, rising star tight end Kyle Pitts got nicked up. He suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out of practice on Wednesday. It was initially believed to be precautionary but on Thursday, Pitts missed was not seen during the portion of practice open to the media.

That is certainly cause for concern. The Falcons are looking for yet another upset, but this one is already going to be more difficult to pull off. Atlanta heads on the road to face Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs are nine points favorites. They are likely going to be buttoned up coming off a disappointing 41-31 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

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The Falcons secondary has really struggled this season and the Bucs have Chris Godwin, Julio Jones and Mike Evans all back in the lineup. There is a good chance Tampa Bay will score quite often Sunday.

That would force Marcus Mariota and the Falcons offense to have to match them. Maybe that's just what Kyle Pitts needs to jump start his season. After a record-setting rookie season for a tight end, Pitts has been all but non-existent this year.

Through four games, he has just 10 catches on 22 targets for 150 scoreless yards. Falcons coach Arthur Smith has come under fire for not getting Pitts more involved in the offense. But he can't make a difference if he isn't on the field. If Pitts is forced to miss the game, Anthony Firkser and Parker Hesse would share tight end duties.