Titans 53-Man Roster 2025: Chig Okonkwo and Cam Ward could be special, but it may not be enough to pay off a contract year

Will contract year Chig be the best Chig?

Easton Freeze — Tennessee Titans Beat Writer
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Tennessee Titans tight end Chig Okonkwo snaps his chin straps during an NFL football minicamp camp practice at Ascension Saint Thomas Sports Park Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn.
© Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Tennessee Titans’ tight end room is undergoing some change in 2025.

This is the first TE installment of an ongoing article series, breaking down the Titans projected 53-man roster one position at a time. Here's what we've covered so far, in case you've missed it:

If you’ve listened to or read my work the past month or two, you may notice I’ve changed my tune more than once on what this depth chart will look like. I have a bit of a mea culpa to issue and explain on that front in the second of these two TE articles, so check that out here. I’m confident I (finally) have it right. So let’s dive into why, and what this group will look like:

Tight Ends

  1. Chig Okonkwo
  2. Gunnar Helm
  3. David Martin-Robinson
  4. Thomas Odukoya

Cuts: Josh Whyle

Contract Year Chig

I am ready to be hurt by Chig Okonkwo again.

This is a contract year for the Titans most veteran TE, so naturally, it’s a very big one for him. Okonkwo’s first three professional seasons have been a somewhat frustrating roller coaster. Now in fairness, I’d guess that with a little bit of truth serum he’d tell you the stability of the situation around him has been a frustrating rollercoaster from his perspective. Which… fair! But them’s the breaks in the NFL, and that’s not going to matter once he gets to the negotiating table next spring.

So far in the NFL, Chig’s statistical production has been consistent. He’s averaged right around 500 yards a season, clearing 30 receptions as a rookie before reaching just over 50 in his last two campaigns. When the ball comes his way, he squeezes every last drop of yardage out of the play. That’s my favorite thing about watching him play, the way that he has no regard for humanity (neither his own nor anybody else on the field) once he tucks and runs. This quote from him in 2023 replays in my head a lot.

He hasn’t been a big impact in the redzone, however, with only 6 career touchdowns to his name. And that’s what separates him from the last Titans TE “Will they/Won’t they?” contract question: Jonnu Smith. In his first three seasons, Jonnu had roughly 500 fewer yards, 70 fewer catches, but 2 more touchdowns than Chig. And then in his contract season he was a go-to option for Ryan Tannehill in the endzone, scoring 8 times in an otherwise very Okonkwo-esque statistical year.

Now, that was a season in which Tennessee scored 59 touchdowns. Chig hasn’t played on a team that has scored more than 33. That’s a lot less love to be spread around! And heading into this Cam Ward-led season, I’m left wondering what kind of jump he can make statistically to maximize his negotiating power. I struggle to see a year close to double digit scores because he just isn’t used in that way a whole lot. He’s much more of a chain mover between the 20’s who wins as a YAC monster than somebody who is going to shimmy loose in a phone booth. He’s not a big-bodied, jump ball-winning, physically imposing target in the redzone either. So a leap for him is more likely to involve more yards than more touchdowns in my estimation.

That’s his charge this season: increasing his consistency as a chain-mover. This is where he’s been liable to impress you one week and make you pull your hair out the next. He’s just consistently inconsistent for whatever reason. If he can prove to be a steadying force—and make some of his big plays in bigger moments—then the Titans front office could be tempted into keeping him around going forward.

When Jonnu hit free agency, though, many fans clamored for him to be brought back. The Patriots signed him to a 4yr/$50,000,000 contract though, and the two parties moved on. That’s the question I ultimately don’t have a good answer for: what does a contract year for Chig look like where he’s signed long-term by Mike Borgonzi & Co?

With rookie Gunnar Helm in the fold, I find it hard not to think this is a bit of a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation. If Chig blows up, he’s liable to get a bloated offer from a desperate team in free agency. And if he disappoints, what incentive do the Titans have to bring him back? Maybe being exactly what he’s already proven he is is the clearest path to him returning? Even then, this may all rest entirely in the hands of rookie Gunnar Helm. If he shows out, the Titans are liable to just move forward with him as their centerpiece.

Clearly, the future for Chig Okonkwo after 2025 is murky. What he can control is his connection with Cam Ward. If those two get on like Ward did with Elijah Arroyo in Miami last year, just ripping seam balls to his favorite TE target every week, it could turn into something special. I look forward to seeing how it pans out. 

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