NFL Expiring Contracts In 2025: Tight End
One of the best ways to gain an edge in a dynasty is to look ahead, and sometimes way ahead. Predicting the future is extremely difficult, but being aware of the future allows you to view players in context, especially in a year-to-year game like dynasty fantasy football. In this series, we’ll be looking at players who are free agents after the 2024 season, taking a temporary mental jump ahead to the 2025 off-season.
We already covered quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers in this series, and now I’ll finish up with the tight ends. There aren’t many tight ends projected to be 2025 free agents and even fewer who are fantasy relevant. Let’s jump into it, though.
Kyle Pitts, ATL
I believe the Falcons will pick up Pitts’s fifth-year option worth $10.4 million. However, unlike some fifth-year option decisions from earlier articles, I don’t think that’s a complete guarantee.
As you can see, Pitts crushed it as a rookie with Matt Ryan at quarterback, putting up 68 receptions, 1,026 yards, and a touchdown while making the Pro Bowl. He also led the team in targets, receptions, and receiving yards, extremely rare for a rookie tight end.
Unfortunately, everything went off the rails in 2022 and 2023. The Falcons struggled with terrible quarterback play from Desmond Ridder, Marcus Mariota, and Taylor Heinicke, while Drake London took over as the Falcons’ clear top receiver. Across 27 games in 2022 and 2023, Pitts barely matched his 2021 output, totaling 81 receptions, 1,023 yards, and five touchdowns.
Additionally, he flopped for fantasy football.
Even in his rookie year, he only averaged 10.39 fantasy PPG, although some of that lower output was due to touchdown regression. However, in 2022 and 2023, he actually scored a few more touchdowns but still had 7.56 and 8.08 fantasy PPG. Somehow, he still finished as the TE12 overall in 2023, but don’t be fooled by the overall finish. He played all 17 games and barely had any fantasy impact.
He managed one top-five finish all season and finished outside the top 12 in 12 of 17 games.
However, the Falcons have a new coaching staff under head coach Raheem Morris and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, previously the Rams’ passing-game coordinator. Therefore, I expect them to give Pitts a new chance, especially since he’s only 23. Lastly, Pitts’s projected 2025 $10.4 million cap hit only ranks 12th among tight ends, making him a relative bargain. Therefore, he likely won’t be a part of the 2025 free agent class, although I could see him hit the trade market if he has another down season in 2024.
Pat Freiermuth, PIT
Freiermuth is the only high-profile tight end who may be a part of the 2025 free-agent class. Interestingly, he had a career path similar to Pitts’s, where his best year was his rookie season under a veteran quarterback.
His 2021 and 2022 seasons were similar, with 9.48 and 9.88 fantasy PPG, respectively. However, his best stretch came in 2021 once he shifted into a full-time role in week six.
From that point forward, he had at least five fantasy points in every game and broke double-digit points six times. While he had similar success in 2022, he only scored two touchdowns, limiting his fantasy upside. Kenny Pickett’s poor play and low passing volume were the main issues for the Steelers’ offense, as they attempted 93 fewer passes in 2022 than in 2021.
Unfortunately, everything fell apart in 2023, as Pickett regressed and George Pickens emerged as the clear secondary receiving option to Diontae Johnson. Freiermuth fell to 6.8 fantasy PPG, essentially off the fantasy radar. Additionally, he struggled with injuries, limiting him to just 12 games.
The Steelers hired former Falcons’ head coach Arthur Smith, who just misused Pitts in Atlanta, as their offensive coordinator. Freiermuth is a better fit for Smith’s offense at tight end than Pitts was, as he is a far more traditional tight end. However, Smith has a history of taking his best tight end off the field for the backup, and Darnell Washington is large, athletic, and good at blocking, all traits that Smith loves.
Therefore, I doubt the Steelers will choose to do an extension in advance with Freiermuth this off-season. The Steelers would retain the option to use the franchise or transition tag on Freiermuth in 2025, worth a reasonable $12.37 and $10.56 million this year. The most recent extensions handed out to tight ends seem expensive for a player with Freiermuth’s track record.
Knox’s extension seems like a total waste of money after the Bills drafted Dalton Kincaid, while Kmet’s deal is far more reasonable. However, considering Freiermuth is coming off a down season, and the Steelers now have a new offensive coordinator, I’m not sure it pays to extend him in advance. The Steelers need to budget money for a potential Diontae Johnson extension as his contract expires in 2024 or for a possible replacement at wide receiver. If Freiermuth struggles in 2024, I could easily see the Steelers letting him walk entirely. Considering the total lack of tight ends in this free agent class, he might get a more significant deal from another team desperate for a tight end.
Everyone Else
Beyond Freiermuth and Pitts, the 2025 free-agent class at tight end is incredibly weak. Most of the players are either way over the hill or have never been fantasy-relevant in their careers. Of the 23 players on the list, the most intriguing are older veterans like Logan Thomas, Jonnu Smith, Tyler Conklin, and Juwan Johnson and lower-profile players finishing up rookie contracts such as Brevin Jordan, Tommy Tremble, and Noah Gray.
The Veterans
Of those four veterans, I think it’s safe to exclude Thomas. He will be 34 by the time the 2025 season starts, and he just averaged 3.4 receptions and 31.0 yards per game in 2023. I don’t expect him to be on the fantasy radar in 2025.
But Smith, Conklin, and Johnson all had some fantasy relevance in 2023 and over the past few years.
Somehow, Arthur Smith is yet again relevant to a tight end conversation, as Jonnu Smith’s three relevant seasons in 2019, 2020, and 2023 were the exact three years he played under Arthur Smith as an offensive coordinator or head coach. Every other year of his career, he did nothing whatsoever.
However, I think Smith’s 2025 future will play out this off-season, not in 2025.
The Falcons have a new coaching regime with no ties to Smith, and they can save $6.5 million by releasing their backup tight end. A TE2 isn’t crucial to the McVay style of offense, so I imagine Smith will hit the free-agent market this off-season. He could easily earn a mid-range multi-year deal, taking him out of the 2025 free agent pool.
As for Conklin, he’s also had mixed success in the NFL.
He did nothing for three years in Minnesota as a backup tight end before breaking out in 2021 after Irv Smith Jr.’s season-ending injury. Since then, he’s been consistently middle of the road, finishing between TE14 and TE17 from 2021 to 2023.
But unlike Smith, the Jets’ current regime signed Conklin, and he’s played well despite poor quarterback play. With Aaron Rodgers returning in 2024, Conklin can earn decent money if he puts up a good season. He’ll turn 30 in 2025, which isn’t old for a tight end. I like Conklin as a dynasty stash.
Lastly, Johnson is the most intriguing of the veterans.
He broke out in 2022 with 42 receptions, 508 yards, and seven touchdowns before slightly regressing in 2023. However, down the stretch, he put up some solid numbers.
It seemed like it took all year for Johnson and Derek Carr to find their chemistry, as his two biggest fantasy outputs were in weeks 16 and 17, including a massive 8/90/1 line in fantasy championship week. Maybe in 2024, the Saints will realize that Johnson is a far more effective receiver than Taysom Hill and use him accordingly. If that occurs, Johnson will only turn 29 early in the 2025 NFL season, so he could command a sizeable free-agent deal. He’s a player to watch over the next year.
The Young Players
Unlike the veterans, the younger players have yet to do much in the NFL. Jordan, Tremble, and Gray have all flashed, but none have earned a fundamental role on their teams. While I think Gray is an exciting stash in case he’s the successor to Travis Kelce, that’s all he is. Similarly, I expect the Texans to use their cap space to retain starter Dalton Schultz, who played well for them in 2023. Therefore, I don’t think Jordan will ever find more than a depth role.
And lastly, Tremble seems like a backup tight end.
He’s had three years to prove himself under multiple different permanent and interim coaching staffs, but he has no actual production to show despite playing 16 or 17 games every season. The Panthers will find better receiving options than DJ Chark, Adam Thielen, and Jonathan Mingo for 2024, reducing Tremble’s role even further.
- Forgotten Dynasty Youth: Top Tier - March 27, 2024
- NFL Expiring Contracts In 2025: Tight End - February 25, 2024
- NFL Expiring Contracts In 2025: Wide Receiver - February 18, 2024
