Delanie Walker will leave the white suit to celebrate a new contract to teammate Taylor Lewan. The three-time Pro Bowl tight end going into his 13th NFL season is too busy working to be better than last season.
And now Walker is under contract through 2020 with yet another contract extension.
"It feels good Authentic Vita Vea Jersey ," Walker said Saturday. "You know I feel like I worked hard on the field and especially off the field with the community. So it feels good that the organization recognizes that and see what I did and rewarded me would have a nice contract. So I'm excited about that."
The Titans announced the extension after practice Friday, their second signing of the day with their Pro Bowl left tackle celebrating his new five-year, $80 million deal with a white suit and hat mimicking Boss Hogg from the TV show "The Dukes of Hazzard." Walker had been going into his final season under contract before the extension.
"I couldn't top Taylor, so sorry to disappoint," Walker said with a laugh. "I couldn't find a white suit in time."
Originally a sixth-round pick out of Central Missouri State, Walker spent his first seven seasons in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers never catching more than 29 passes in any season. The 6-foot-2, 248-pound Walker knew he could do much more and gambled on signing with Tennessee in 2013 as a free agent.
He's delivered with 356 receptions since 2013 鈥?most by any tight end in the NFL in that span. Walker's best season statistically came in 2015 when he caught 94 passes for 1,088 yards, and he led the Titans with 74 catches for 807 yards. Walker has gone to the Pro Bowl the past three seasons and was the game's MVP last January .
AP Video: @delaniewalker82 on how he keeps himself in shape going into his 13 season. The Pro Bowl tight end has new extension through 2020. pic.uyAsRjE6Jk
鈥?Teresa Walker (@TeresaMWalker) July 28, 2018
Titans coach Mike Vrabel notes Walker didn't come into the league as a first-round pick or starter from the beginning.
"He's worked and he's gotten better every year, and he continues to do that and takes great care of his body and football's very important to him," Vrabel said.
Walker said he knew this all was possible Lawrence Taylor Jersey , which is why he left the 49ers.
"I had something good there," Walker said. "You know they loved me there. They gave me the opportunity to play, but I didn't see myself being that guy that I wanted to be. Knowing that I can be a dominant starter in this league, and the Titans gave me the opportunity. So I'm thankful and I'm blessed to still be able to play the way I'll play and for them to give me an extension."
Now 33 and with the most NFL experience on the roster, Walker says people ask him how he stays in such shape at his age. Walker said he learned by watching former teammates like Larry Allen and Bryant Young and copying how they took care of themselves.
His approach? Be among the first players to arrive and the last to leave. Get all the treatment possible and eat right. Hit the cold tub and steam room. Three massages a week. Lastly, play football like the game that it is. Walker went to the ground to pull in a ball during the offseason program.
"It's a kid's game, and I feel like a kid every time I step on a field," Walker said.
Walker almost didn't make it to training camp this year. On Tuesday, his Lamborghini got caught underneath a tractor-trailer with Walker inside on a street in downtown Nashville. Walker thanked the person who flagged down the truck driver, alerting the driver to the car stuck to the semi.
"Thank you for stopping the guy because he was still going," Walker said. "He didn't see me at all."
Notes: LB Brian Orakpo did not practice Saturday. Vrabel said Orakpo knocked shoulders with TE Luke Stocker on Friday, something that wearing pads would've protected. ... Rookie LB Rashaan Evans limped off the practice field with a trainer Cheap Ronald Jones II Jersey , but Vrabel did not have an update on his status.
Enrique Hernandez has been around the Los Angeles Dodgers long enough to know that an extended hot streak, even from a utility player, can lead to regular playing time.
Hernandez hit another homer, Kenta Maeda pitched seven strong innings and the Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 2-1 on Monday night.
Chicago lost its fifth straight, to tie a season high, after getting swept over four games at Cincinnati. The Cubs have scored a combined 13 runs over their past five games.
Hernandez has six home runs, nine RBIs and a .773 slugging percentage over his last 13 games. Hernandez also went deep twice Sunday. He has a career-high 13 home runs, surpassing his 12 from 2017.
A nagging hamstring injury to Chris Taylor – he came off the bench for a pinch-homer Monday – has given Hernandez more chances to deliver of late.
”I would say that getting a little more playing time over these last two, three weeks has definitely helped me to stay sharp,” said Hernandez, who hit three home runs against the Cubs in Game 5 of last year’s NL Championship Series-clinching victory.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gave extended runs to offensive performers like Taylor and Austin Barnes in the second half of last season. Max Muncy has earned at-bats this year with 15 home runs and 32 RBIs.
Hernandez is making a case for himself.
”(Hernandez), on this run for us Authentic Dalton Schultz Jersey , has been as valuable, if not more valuable than anybody on our club,” Roberts said.
Maeda (5-4) struck out nine and allowed three singles over seven innings. The Dodgers returned to Los Angeles to open a 10-game homestand after sweeping the New York Mets over the weekend in a three-game series.
As a team, the Dodgers have hit 48 home runs and gone 16-5 in June.
Kenley Jansen gave up deep a sacrifice fly to Javier Baez in the ninth inning before closing out the Cubs for his 20th save.
”We just have to work better at-bats,” manager Joe Maddon said. ”We are chasing way too much. We have to force the pitcher into the strike zone. Once we do that we will be fine.”
Cubs starter Duane Underwood (0-1) made his major league debut, recovering from a 41-pitch first inning to give up just two hits and a run over four innings, with three walks and three strikeouts.
DREAM COME TRUE
Underwood didn’t sweat a 14-pitch duel with Matt Kemp in the first inning – he embraced it. Kemp walked to load the bases, but Underwood escaped the jam by retiring Yasmani Grandal on a fly ball to the warning track.
”That was beautiful,” Underwood said. ”For me it was poetry in motion. I loved it going back and forth with the guy. … That was great, especially idolizing the guy growing up. To go one-V-one with the guy was great. Bases loaded, I loved it.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cubs: RHP Yu Darvish felt soreness in his troubled triceps tendon after a minor league rehabilitation start Monday. Darvish hasn’t pitched in the majors since May 20 because of right triceps tendinitis. The Japanese ace threw five sharp innings for Class A South Bend. Darvish was set to rejoin the team in Los Angeles on Tuesday to discuss his next steps. … 3B Kris Bryant (sore shoulder), who was out of the starting lineup Rashaan Evans Titans Jersey , is not expected to go on the DL, but is not expected to play Tuesday. … RHP Brandon Morrow (lower back tightness) threw a bullpen and is expected to be activated Wednesday without needing a minor league rehab outing.
Dodgers: Taylor (sore left hamstring) was out of the starting lineup for the fourth consecutive game. … RHP Walker Buehler (right rib microfracture) will throw another bullpen this week that will increase the intensity from his 17-pitch bullpen Sunday, but his return remains undecided. … RHP Pedro Baez (right biceps tendonitis) and LHP Tony Cingrani (left shoulder strain) will throw bullpen sessions this week. … LHP Julio Urias (left shoulder surgery) will throw two bullpens this week, as his fastball is nearing 90 mph, but his return remains undecided.
UP NEXT
LHP Jon Lester (9-2, 2.10 ERA) will try to win his sixth consecutive start and faces the Dodgers for his second consecutive outing. RHP Ross Stripling (6-2, 1.99), who saw his six-start win streak come to an end last week at Chicago, will get another chance to beat the Cubs for the first time in his career.
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