Should the 49ers Reunite With TE Delanie Walker?
With only around $13 million in salary-cap space, the San Francisco 49ers will not be major players in free agency. In fact, do not expect them to even be active once it kicks off. The only players that the 49ers will show interest in are middle and below of the pack players since they will be cost effective.
One player that the 49ers can possibly add to their list of targets is tight end Delanie Walker. The 14-year pro was released Friday by the Tennessee Titans after seven seasons with the team. Now the 35-year old Walker will be looking for a new team. Given his age and injury history, he will almost assuredly have to take a cheap and short-term deal.
That type of mold fits exactly what the 49ers are looking for in a free agent. There is history after all since Walker spent the first seven years of his career in San Francisco. He could also be looking for one last run for a chance at a Super Bowl ring. The 49ers can easily provide the opportunity for him and could prove enticing since this was the team that gave him his shot.
It begs the question to ask: should the 49ers reunite with Delanie Walker?
Despite his age and poor health the last two season, the 49ers should show interest in Walker. Once again, his price tag is the ideal value for the 49ers given their cap situation. Not to mention that they still need another tight end to fill out the roster with Levine Toilolo hitting the free agent market next week.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan will want a quality trio of tight ends since George Kittle and Ross Dwelley are locked in for 2020. Walker could be a player that interests Shanahan because of his interchangeability. That alone should already have him considering Walker since he is a sharp receiver and can block both on the line and out of the backfield. Shanahan just can never pass up a versatile player like this.
There could actually be a decent chance the 49ers are interested in Walker. Matt Barrows of The Athletic revealed yesterday that the Niners "want an upgrade at tight end to take some pressure off of George Kittle".
Walker could very well be capable of it. The real question mark here is if he is even worth the time? Walker has been placed on injured reserve the last two seasons, which clearly seems to be developing a pattern. However, Walker isn't going to be the starter nor is he going to see a ton of snaps. He is just more of a rotational player to keep the depth strong.
Like Barrows said, "to take some pressure off of George Kittle". He doesn't need to be the former Pro Bowler that he once was. Just efficient enough to keep defenses stressed out when defending the 49ers' offense.
The official tampering period will begin on March 16th when the teams are allowed to start negotiating deals. Will the 49ers be in the sweepstakes for a reunion with Walker?
