Delanie Walker‘s absence limited the Titans’ offense last season. The Pro Bowl tight end missed 15 games, leaving Tennessee low on aerial options.
Walker will also be 35 by Week 1. However, the 14th-year tight end is not planning on retiring. He is eyeing OTAs as a realistic goal to return from the broken ankle he suffered during Week 1 of last season, Turron Davenport of ESPN.com notes.
This target may be more realistic than Walker’s midseason aspiration of being a candidate to come off IR. Tennessee left Walker on IR, which was expected given the nature of his injury. The Titans, however, sorely missed their chain-moving tight end. After getting four straight 800-plus-yard seasons from Walker, the Titans saw their No. 2 pass-catcher — Taywan Taylor — record just 466 receiving yards. Corey Davis led the team with 891, but Marcus Mariota trudged through another unremarkable season (11 touchdown passes, 2,528 passing yards in 14 games).
But Walker does appear to be in line to be back to help the 2019 Titans, who are also likely in the market for wide receiver help. Walker signed a two-year, $17MM extension in 2018 and is under contract through 2020. He is set to make $4.1MM and count $6.33MM against the Titans’ cap next season.
scum bag