The Facts: When the 2019 season starts, Walker, coming off a broken ankle, will be 35. Before leaving the facility for the offseason, he said his recovery is going as scheduled. His goal is to be able to run and catch footballs in OTAs. He knows the questions about returning to form will arise and he welcomes the challenge. "I don’t really remember how old I am," Walker said. "They can judge me all they want. I already know people are going to say it’s going to be a struggle to come back off an injury like this. They doubted me before and look how far I got. I am just going to prove everybody wrong." Reported by ESPN.com

Diehards Line: As ESPN.com's Turron Davenport notes, there's a saying in the NFL that a reliable tight end is a quarterback's best friend. Given how Walker has been targeted over 100 times in each of his three full seasons paired with QB Marcus Mariota, that rings true in Tennessee. The 13-year veteran has been the focal point of the passing game since arriving as a free agent in 2013. Mariota appreciates the impact Walker has on opposing defenses. "Delanie was such a vital part of the offense, and he caused matchup problems. Teams tried to figure out how to match up against him or maybe even put two guys on him," Mariota said after Walker was hurt last September. Indeed, a former college wideout, Walker presents those matchup problems. Opposing defenses struggle to stop Walker because he is too fast for most linebackers to cover, and at 6-2 and 248 pounds, he can outmuscle defensive backs. Last year, the Titans' tight ends combined for 63 receptions for 750 yards and seven touchdowns without Walker. By comparison, Walker himself averaged 71.2 receptions along with 831.2 yards and five touchdowns from 2013 to 2017. His return is worth watching.

The Facts: The Bills currently have one tight end under contract for 2019 in Jason Croom. Needless to say, the team will likely be looking to add a few other tight ends into the fold in free agency or via the 2019 NFL Draft. Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com shared that Buffalo is one of two teams very interested in James on his most recent podcast. Reported by NewYorkUpstate.com

Diehards Line: “If there is one tight end who gets a big contract that turns heads it’s likely to be Jesse James of the Pittsburgh Steelers," said Pauline. "I’m told the team would like to re-sign James, but he presently sits behind Vance McDonald on the Steelers depth chart and staying with Pittsburgh is not a career move that James would want. Presently, I’m told that the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Buffalo Bills are two teams very interested in James once he hits the open market.” James’ stats appear modest at first glance. The tight end is coming off of a season in which he caught 30 passes for 423 yards and two touchdowns in 16 games (7 starts). In the last three seasons, James’ receiving yards have increased, but he’s never caught more than 43 passes in a season. That said, at 24 years old, James’ best football should be ahead of him. Pro Football Focus graded James as their No. 30 tight end in 2018, but his individual grades could shed light into Buffalo’s interest. While he finished with a 66.4 overall grade, James fared well as a run blocker (64.0) and in pass protection (76.8). Considering Buffalo’s blocking woes last season, a tight end like James would help in both run and pass blocking. All that said, GM Kevin Colbert suggested during a Friday appearance on NFL Network that the team is interested in an extension for James.

The Facts: With the retirement of veteran Benjamin Watson, Hill is expected to be the starting tight end for the New Orleans Saints in 2019, according to Josh Katzenstein of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Reported by the Redzone.org

Diehards Line: As the Redzone.org notes, Hill has spent six uneventful years on the Saints roster ever since signing with the team as an undrafted free agent out of of Idaho State in 2013 but has has been valuable as a blocker and occasional pass catcher. It seems unlikely at this late date that he will actually blossom as an offensive weapon given that he has yet to catch 20 passes or surpass 200 yards in any season, but a breakout isn't outside the realm of possibility. That said, don't be surprised if converted wideout Dan Arnold, who flashed as a downfield threat at times last season, also takes on a larger role with Watson gone. It's also possible New Orleans adds a veteran to the mix this offseason.

The Facts: Taylor believes 2019 is going to be his season. He plans on taking advantage of his new resource: Wes Welker. He is also looking towards an off season where there are less elements going against him. Richard Sherman noted at the end of the season that not having the worry about rehabbing makes an offseason much more enjoyable and productive. Taylor agrees whole-heartedly. “I think that’s just such an advantage,” Taylor said, “to be able to only think about building your body up with no limitations going on. I think whenever you have to worry about an injury throughout the offseason there’s so much you have to hold back from." Reported by NBCBayArea.com

Diehards Line: It was a challenging sophomore season for Taylor. He seemed primed for a breakout season in 2018 but was held back by a surgical procedure on his back that ended up having more of an impact on his play than predicted by the 49ers staff, or even Taylor himself. Taylor played in 15 games in his rookie campaign and recorded 43 catches for 430 yards and two touchdowns in 2017. But Year 2 did not go as planned, as he played in 14 games with 26 catches for 216 yards. The good news? Taylor has already started his offseason training program, working in San Jose. He says he is finally back to normal, not needing to compensate for his injury. “I feel like my back is back to normal now,” Taylor said. “I just knew that I needed a little more time than I was able to get throughout the season. That’s why I’ve been really looking forward to this offseason." His progress merits our attention.

The Facts: The Vikings had their new coaches meet the media on Thursday and Kevin Stefanski’s shift from interim to permanent offensive coordinator meant he was among those speaking. Stefanski spent a lot of time talking about a newer addition to the organization. The impact of the arrival of assistant head coach/offensive advisor Gary Kubiak on play calls and game plans came up for discussion, but one of the biggest things to watch in Minnesota in 2019 is going to be the play of Cousins. Reported by Profootballtalk.com

Diehards Line: Stefanski was asked if he thought Kubiak’s experience working with Mike and Kyle Shanahan would be a plus to his work with Cousins, who opened his career with the Shanahans in Washington. “I think that all helps,” Stefanski said. “It’s no secret Kirk came up under both coach Shanahans and had some success in that system. There are a lot of similarities then to what we are doing moving forward. There are a couple, obviously you evolve I would hope year-to-year and I hope really week-to-week that our offense looks different.” Stefanski and Kubiak both talked about doing a better job in the run game and there’s no doubt that the Vikings have to improve on that front to make their offense as well-rounded as possible. Should that improvement coincide with better work from Cousins, the appointment of both Stefanski and Kubiak will be cause for applause in Minnesota.

The Facts: The Chiefs announced the signings of four free agents, including Manuel. They also signed receivers Sammie Coates and Davon Grayson and defensive back Dontae Johnson. Reported by Profootballtalk.com

Diehards Line: Manuel, 28, has not played an NFL game since 2017. The Raiders cut him out of the preseason in 2018. A former first-round choice of the Bills, Manuel has appeared in 30 games with 18 starts. He is 6-12 with a 58.1 completion percentage, 3,767 yards, 20 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He becomes the fourth quarterback under contract, joining Patrick Mahomes, Chad Henne and Chase Litton. Coates is a former third-round pick of the Steelers. He played 12 games with the Texans last season before they cut him Dec. 19. Johnson is a former fourth-round pick of the 49ers. He played one game for the Bills last season after appearing in 63 games with San Francisco over four seasons.

The Facts: The Bears have decided to release Parkey at the start of the league year, sources tell NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Reported by NFL.com

Diehards Line: Rapoport went on to advise his Twitter followers a fresh start is welcomed by both parties, and the Pro Bowler will likely find work quickly. He’s still due $3.5 million guaranteed on his 2019 contract. Parkey had a poor season that had a terrible ending, and he seemed to alienate the Bears’ coaching staff and front office with the TV interview he gave days after his season-ending miss. Now he’s on the way out in Chicago, and the Bears will need to find a new kicker for 2019.

The Facts: Following up on a previous item. ... C.J. Anderson would like to clarify his recent comments about teammate Todd Gurley‘s knee injury. Anderson wrote on Twitter that a lot of “dummies” didn’t listen to the question he was asked and didn’t realize he was speaking specifically about the regular season when he said, “The injury was a little bit more than what everybody in the building thought, including himself.” Reported by Profootballtalk.com

Diehards Line: In case you missed it, Anderson said that Gurley’s knee was more hurt than initially thought. But many interpreted that as meaning Gurley was injured in the postseason, including the Super Bowl. But Anderson says he meant that Gurley was more hurt than initially thought when Anderson signed with the Rams in December. Anderson says that by January, Gurley’s knee was fine. Gurley had a bad game in the Super Bowl, but health was apparently not the reason for it.

The Facts: Following up on a previous item. ... Eifert posted a workout video this week that showed he’s made good progress in his recovery from last year’s broken ankle with the start of free agency drawing closer. Eifert discussed his recovery and his impending freedom during an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio. Eifert called himself “pretty close” to being ready to go on the field and said that his recovery from this ankle injury has been made easier because he went through it with his other ankle in the past. Reported by Profootballtalk.com

Diehards Line: Those ankle injuries are part of a long list of injuries that have kept Eifert off the field for large chunks of his career. Eifert knows that will be part of the discussion with teams when the free agent market opens next month. “Obviously it’s something I have to deal with and something I have to answer to because it is a part of my history,” Eifert said. “It’s tough, though, because there’s nothing I could do to prevent what is happening. Pretty freak injuries.” As PFT notes, Eifert was able to find one bright side to his most recent injury. He’s had three back surgeries and said that the time off due to his ankle injury has left his back feeling as good as it has ever felt, which is good news for Eifert even if it’s unlikely to lead to a lot of guarantees from teams that are aware of how infrequently he’s been able to play.

The Facts: The Eagles have signed re-signed Elliott and long snapper Rick Lovato to one-year deals according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Reported by the Redzone.org

Diehards Line: The 24-year-old Elliott joined the Eagles early in 2017 when they signed him off of the Bengals practice squad. He’s gone 52-of-62 on field goals and 72-of-77 on extra points over his two years with the team and has also made all eight field goals and 8-of-10 extra points in the postseason. Lovato joined the Eagles in 2016 and has snapped in all of the team’s games over the last two seasons. He has also recorded seven special teams tackles over that period.