Tennessee secures a proven tight end with a familiar offensive playbook connection, adding depth and a key blocking presence to their revamped lineup.
The Tennessee Titans made their second free-agent signing on Monday.
The Titans entered free agency with the most cap space in the NFL, and were pretty low spenders at the start.
The team found a player with a connection to offensive coordinator Brian Daboll in former New York Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger, via NFL Analyst Jordan Schultz. The Titans are signing Bellinger to a three-year, $24 million contract.
Before that, the Titans found their backup quarterback for 2026 in former Buffalo Bills player Mitchell Trubisky.
Bellinger has spent the majority of his NFL career with the Giants. He entered the league in 2022. Bellinger was a fourth-round draft pick in 2022 out of San Diego State. He had his best year with the Giants last season after finishing with 286 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
There's no doubt that one of the reasons the Titans brought him was his ties to Daboll. Daboll coached Bellinger at the Giants from 2022-25.
He is fresh off his rookie contract with the Giants so that this move will save the team some money. Bellinger will also be a replacement for tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo, who the Titans let hit free agency after his rookie contract ran out.
Okonkwo could never really get over the hump with Titans and take that next step. Even though he just had his best year with the team, it was time to move on from Okonkwo. His inconsistencies were just too prevalent during his time in the Music City.
It's clear that the plan for the Titans' tight end room is to have Gunnar Helm lead the charge, with Bellinger as TE2.
Helm will be more of a receiving option, while Bellinger should offer support as a blocker. Helm showed a lot of promise as a rookie, finishing with 357 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Bringing in Bellinger is a good scheme fit since he'll already be familiar with the system that Daboll will run with the Titans. The Titans didn't really have a straight-up blocking tight end last season, with Helm and Okonkwo both being receiving tight ends.
This move makes sense for the Titans to get a plan at tight end going forward. The Titans avoided having to give Okonkwo an extension and added a blocker to help.
More moves will surely come from the Titans with how much cap space they have.