Tennessee Titans need to bring Delanie Walker back

It is time for the Tennessee Titans to pull the trigger.

Think back to Week 1 and that terrible long game that the Tennessee Titans lost to the Miami Dolphins.

During that game Marcus Mariota injured his throwing hand with an injury that would screw him up for months and Taylor Lewan got hit with one of the worst cheap shots in recent memory.

But also in that game, the Tennessee Titans lost their most consistent skill position player: Delanie Walker.

Few tight ends in the NFL can provide what Walker gave the Titans and fans have felt his absence ever since. So, when he was put on IR it was a tough blow to the team’s hopes of the playoffs.

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Fast forward to Thursday night’s stomping of the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Titans suffered another major injury to a tight end. Jonnu Smith sprained his MCL in an injury that will put him on IR.

All is lost at tight end right? Well, not so fast. The Titans can still have an impact player at tight end, someone with the potential to be a game changer and Marcus Mariota’s security blanket. No, I’m not talking about Firkser I am talking about Delanie Walker.

Walker is eligible to return off of IR at this point and has been around the facilities rehabbing hard. While he didn’t offer any false hope to Titans fans in an interview around Week 10, it is time to start seriously evaluating if Walker can find a way to get healthy and back on the field.

I’m not talking about getting him ready by next Sunday, but the Saturday after that the Tennessee Titans face the Washington Redskins in Nashville in Week 16. That means that Walker would be 15 weeks and more than 100 days removed from his injury, it isn’t crazy to think that he could come back.

The Titans need players who are consistent to even out boom or bust players like Derrick Henry and Taywan Taylor. With Corey Davis and Delanie Walker, this offense could be much more sustainable and it would make life so much easier on Mariota who needs targets that can get open quickly against his overmatched OL.

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Even if Walker can only play limited snaps, he would be great to have back for a variety of reasons. He is a leader on this team and when the chips are down everyone believes in him to make a play.

The Titans need that type of player if they are going to try to go on a run and push for a playoff spot down the stretch. Just imagine how crazy the crowd would get in Week 17 at home if Delanie Walker scores the game winning touchdown vs the Indianapolis Colts to put Tennessee in the playoffs. It would go down in history as one of the all-time best moments for Titans fans.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, he just needs to be activated.

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