Hard work pays off for Walker
NASHVILLE — Delanie Walker left the elaborate contract celebration to Tennessee Titans teammate Taylor Lewan. The threetime Pro Bowl tight end is too busy working to make his 13th NFL season even better than the past one.
And now Walker is under contract through 2020.
“It feels good,” Walker said Saturday. “You know, I feel like I worked hard on the field and especially off the field with the community. So it feels good that the organization recognizes that and sees what I did and rewarded me with a nice contract. So I’m excited about that.”
The Titans announced Walker’s contraction extension after practice Friday, their second signing of the day. The first was for Lewan, the Pro Bowl left tackle who toasted his new five-year, $80 million deal by donning a white suit and hat to mimic Boss Hogg from the TV show “The Dukes of Hazzard.”
Walker was going into his final season under contract before the extension.
“I couldn’t top Taylor — so sorry to disappoint,” Walker said with a laugh. “I couldn’t find a white suit in time.”
A sixth-round pick out of Central Missouri State in the 2006 NFL draft, Walker spent his first seven pro seasons with the San Francisco 49ers and never caught more than 29 passes in any season. The 6-foot-2, 248-pound Walker knew he could do much more and gambled on signing with Tennessee as a free agent in 2013.
He has delivered with 356 receptions in his Titans career, the most by any NFL tight end from 2013 to 2017. Walker’s best season statistically was 2015, when he caught 94 passes for 1,088 yards, and he led the Titans last season with 74 catches for 807 yards. He has gone to the Pro Bowl the past three seasons and was the game’s MVP last January.
“He’s worked and he’s gotten better every year,” first-year Titans coach Mike Vrabel said, “and he continues to do that and takes great care of his body, and football’s very important to him.”
Walker said he knew such success was possible, which is why he left the 49ers.
“I had something good there,” Walker said. “You know, they loved me there. They gave me the opportunity to play, but I didn’t see myself being that guy that I wanted to be, knowing that I can be a dominant starter in this league, and the Titans gave me the opportunity. So I’m thankful and I’m blessed to still be able to play the way I’ll play and for them to give me an extension.”
Now 33 and with the most NFL experience on the roster, Walker said people ask him how he stays in such shape at his age. He said he learned by watching former teammates such as Larry Allen and Bryant Young and copying how they took care of themselves.
His approach? Be among the first players to arrive and the last to leave. Get all the injury treatment possible and eat right. Hit the cold tub and the steam room. Get three massages a week. Lastly, play football like the game that it is. Even in the offseason program, Walker wasn’t shy about going to the ground to make a catch.
“It’s a kid’s game,” Walker said, “and I feel like a kid every time I step on a field.”