Yesterday, we noted that the Buffalo Bills made an attempt to court free agent defensive lineman Mike DeVito before he ultimately signed a three-year, $12.6 million deal with the Kansas City Chiefs. As it turns out, DeVito was not the only free agent that the Bills lost out on Tuesday (and no, we're not referring to guard Andy Levitre, either).
After tight end Delanie Walker signed a four-year, $17.5 million deal (containing $8.6 million guaranteed) with the Tennessee Titans, he mentioned on a radio station (noted by Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee) that the Bills were one of four teams, including the Titans, that showed interest in him on the open market.
Walker, who will turn 29 in August, is a 6'0", 242-pound athlete that has worked as a fullback, halfback and tight end through seven years as a member of the San Francisco 49ers; he played second fiddle to Vernon Davis much of that time. Now, Walker will get a chance to start in Tennessee, where he'll replace the departed Jared Cook in the lineup.
The fact that the Bills were interested in Walker is noteworthy all by itself, however, given that GM Buddy Nix has repeatedly mentioned the team's need for a tight end with Scott Chandler coming off of late-season ACL surgery. Walker is more of a space tight end than an in-line player like Chandler, so we can safely assume that the Bills are looking for a "move" tight end that is more of a receiving option than what they currently have on the roster.