It is not as if NFL teams are lining up to try and sign Delanie Walker. He understands that.
The former Tennessee Titans tight end is 36 years old (he will turn 37 in a month) and sat out the 2020 season in an attempt to recover from issues related to an ankle injury that limited him to eight games played in 2018 and 2019 combined.
Still, he intends to be particular when it comes to choosing a new team, if an opportunity comes along. And he hopes it will as he continues to search for an opportunity to play this season.
“I feel like it’s got to be a team that is a contender,” Walker told SiriusXM NFL Radio on Tuesday. “A team that has a quarterback that’s going to throw the ball, that’s got a complement with a running back and some receivers that are going to help.
“I don’t want to go into a team and do pretty much what I’ve been doing my whole career, which is fight to be great, for that team to be good. … I want to go to a team where I can complement everybody.”
In 14 NFL seasons with the San Francisco 49ers (2006-12) and the Tennessee Titans (2013-19), Walker has played in just six postseason contests. That limited experience does include an appearance in Super Bowl XLVII with the 49ers to cap the 2012 season (San Francisco lost 34-31 to the Baltimore Ravens).
The last was in 2017 with the Titans, when they lost in the divisional round to the New England Patriots. He was on injured reserve in 2019 when Tennessee won twice in the playoffs before the season ended with a loss to Kansas City in the AFC Championship.
He has 16 receptions but never has scored a touchdown in the postseason.
Overall, he is one of 21 tight ends with at least 500 career receptions. He has 504 for 5,888 yards and 36 touchdowns, including 381 (a franchise record for tight ends) for 4,423 yards and 28 touchdowns with Tennessee.
“Just waiting for that phone call,” Walker said. “You know, just waiting for coaches to see that I’m still of value. I understand that the age can be a problem in this league because most of the time they want younger guys that get paid less instead of paying the vets what they feel like they should be paid. It goes with: “Can he do it? Is he capable of playing 17 games? Will the leg hold up?’
“… At the end of the day, I’m sitting here waiting to say, ‘Give me the opportunity to show you that it can hold up.’”
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