Titans sign Walker to contract extension
On the same day they locked up one offensive star, the Titans secured their future with another.
Veteran tight end Delanie Walker has agreed to a contract extension with the Titans, the team announced after practice Friday.
The two-year extension runs through 2020, when Walker will be 36, and is worth $17 million ($12.6 million guaranteed) with an $8 million signing bonus, according to NFL Network.
Walker, entering his 13th NFL season and sixth with Tennessee, would have been an unrestricted free agent after the 2018 season.
A three-time Pro Bowl selection, Walker led the Titans with 74 catches and 807 receiving yards last season. Only five other tight ends age 33 or older have recorded at least 800 receiving yards in a single season since the NFL-AFL merger, according to pro football reference.
He is fifth among all active tight ends in career receptions (479) and career receiving yards (5,621).
His 356 receptions over the past five seasons were the most in the league by a tight end over that span.
During OTAs in June, Walker said, “Honestly, I feel like I’m the best tight end in the league in all phases.
“Blocking, run blocking, catching the ball, breaking tackles, stuff like that. At the end of the day if you don’t feel like that, you shouldn’t be in the league.”
Earlier in the day, the Titans announced they had given Taylor Lewan a five-year, $80 million contract extension.
Reach Erik Bacharach at ebacharach@tennessean.com and on Twitter @ErikBacharach.