The Tennessee Titans did not appear to have any interest in retaining tight end Chig Okonkwo in free agency. Shortly after the negotiating window opened, the Titans essentially replaced him by signing Daniel Bellinger to a three-year, $24 million contract. Days later, Okonkwo's departure was confirmed when he signed a similar contract with the Washington Commanders.
Okonkwo was a consistent pass-catching weapon for the Titans. The former Maryland standout notched four straight seasons with 450-plus receiving yards despite playing for an inconsistent offense. Okonkwo was also a limited player who never seemed to take another step forward while lacking the versatility needed to play a complete role as a blocker.
Having already signed his new contract with the Commanders, Okonkwo has been doing media appearances with local reporters. In one sit-down conversation with Bryan Colbert Jr. on his Next Man Up podcast, Okonkwo had particularly interesting things to say. He took a brutal parting shot at the Titans, one that was probably thrown in former head coach Brian Callahan's direction.
TE Chig Okonkwo takes brutal parting shot at Titans
"There's so much more I'm able to do," Okonkwo said in a clip that has surfaced on social media. "The offensive leaders of this team, the role that they see me playing, I'm just so excited to know I'm going to be a featured guy [in the passing game] from the first week. I can't imagine what my numbers [stats] would look like if I was getting real targets from Week 1, if I was running real routes. I'm excited to show what Chig Okonkwo is supposed to look like on a football field for an entire season."
It would be unfair to say Okonkwo did not receive passing-game opportunities in Tennessee. His 76 targets in 2025 ranked 15th among all tight ends. Okonkwo converted those opportunities into 56 receptions (16th-most) for 560 yards (18th-most) and two touchdowns.
Using that same sample size and minimum qualifiers, Okonkwo averaged just 1.33 yards per route run. That placed 30th among qualifying tight ends. The data indicates Okonkwo possesses legitimate reason to complain about his route-running usage. In two seasons in Callahan's offense, he saw the lowest outputs of his career in the yards per route run category.
Okonkwo obviously feels he's capable of producing more than the four modestly impressive seasons he enjoyed in Tennessee. He should get that opportunity in Washington, with Jayden Daniels as his quarterback. Time will tell if Okonkwo's complaints prove legitimate or not.