Three free agent tight ends the Washington Commanders could target in 2026

TAMPA, FLORIDA - JANUARY 03: Cade Otton #88 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers runs the ball after a catch during the first quarter against the Carolina Panthers during a game at Raymond James Stadium on January 03, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) | Getty Images After last seas

Summarized by AI ⓘ

What is the story about?

After last season’s 5-12 finish, one thing is abundantly clear for Washington football fans. The team needs to add a significant amount of talent during the offseason. While Adam Peters will continue to use the draft, the Commanders GM will also have an estimated $82 million in cap space at his disposal after various projected restructures, releases, and dead cap hits. Jayden Daniels is entering his third year, and the clock is ticking on the franchise quarterback’s rookie contract, making this arguably

the most critical free agency of the new millennium for Washington. With free agency set to open on March 11th, Hogs Haven will be working to bring you articles on potential targets to fill various positions of need:

Top Needs:

Secondary Needs:

Running Back
Defensive Tackle

In each article, we will briefly summarize the team’s current situation at the position, traits the coaching staff will prioritize, along with a list of the top free agents and a detailed look at a few players that fit the team at different projected average annual values (AAV), typically one high-, one moderate-, and one low-cost contract.

Today, we finish out the top needs with a look at the tight ends.

Position Summary

Currently Under Contract:

Ben Sinnott: On 3rd year of rookie deal.
John Bates: On 2nd year of 3-year deal.
Colson Yankoff : On last year of 3-year deal.
Tyree Jackson: Restricted free agent
Luke Cager: Reserve/Future contract

Significant Free Agents:

Zach Ertz

The tight end room is in better shape than some, with Ben Sinnott’s full potential yet to be determined. John Bates has developed into one of the league’s best blockers and an occasional receiving threat. UDFA Colson Yankoff started as a plus special teams player but has also shown enough to be a strong depth piece. Tyree Jackson will almost certainly not be tendered. Luke Cager has bounced on and off the practice squad but was signed to a reserve/future contract in January. Zach Ertz should not be in the team’s plans unless there is an in-season emergency. New offensive coordinator David Blough is expected to take some of Ben Johnson’s offense and blend it with more traditional West Coast concepts. Expect more play-action with tight end involvement, and the team should prioritize a player who can work the seams and be a red zone threat.

Top Tight End Free Agents:

Travis Kelce

David Njoku

Isaiah Likely

Chig Okonkwo

Cade Otton

Dallas Goedert

Jonnu Smith

Will Dissly

Tyler Higbee

Tyler Conklin

Noah Fant

Darren Waller

Adam Trautman

Foster Moreau

Daniel Bellinger

Cade Otton, 26, Buccaneers

Height/Weight: 6’5”, 247 lbs

Career Stats:

Receiving & Rushing Table
							Receiving												Rushing									Scrimmage
Season	Age	Team	Lg	Pos	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD	1D	Succ%	Lng	R/G	Y/G	Ctch%	Y/Tgt	Att	Yds	TD	1D	Succ%	Lng	Y/A	Y/G	A/G	Touch	Y/Tch	YScm	RRTD	Fmb	AV	Awards
2022	23	TAM	NFL	TE	16	11	65	42	391	9.3	2	23	52.3	35	2.6	24.4	64.6	6.0	0	0	0	0				0.0	0.0	42	9.3	391	2	0	3
2023	24	TAM	NFL	TE	17	17	67	47	455	9.7	4	27	49.3	27	2.8	26.8	70.1	6.8	0	0	0	0				0.0	0.0	47	9.7	455	4	1	4
2024	25	TAM	NFL	TE	14	14	87	59	600	10.2	4	33	51.7	44	4.2	42.9	67.8	6.9	1	-4	0	0	0.0	-4	-4.0	-0.3	0.1	60	9.9	596	4	2	6
2025	26	TAM	NFL	TE	16	16	81	59	572	9.7	1	25	51.9	27	3.7	35.8	72.8	7.1	0	0	0	0				0.0	0.0	59	9.7	572	1	0	5
4 Yrs					63	58	300	207	2018	9.7	11	108	51.3	44	3.3	32.0	69.0	6.7	1	-4	0	0	0.0	-4	-4.0	-0.1	0.0	208	9.7	2014	11	3	18
17 Game Avg					17	16	81	56	545	9.7	3	29	51.3	44	3.3	32.0	69.0	6.7	0	-1	0	0	0.0	-4	-4.0	-0.1	0.0	56	9.7	543	3	1	5

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/5/2026.

Spotrac Projection: Value

3 years, $23,741,502

AAV: $7.9M

The projected contracts for tight ends have cooled considerably since the start of the offseason. With Kyle Pitts officially off the market, Isaiah Likely is likely to negotiate a large contract with at least one team. Fortunately, the free agent market is good if not great this year, and there are plenty of other options.

Cade Otton is not necessarily great at anything, but conversely, he isn’t terrible at anything either. In four years with the Buccaneers, Otton has appeared in 63 games with 58 starts. On 300 career targets, he notched 207 catches for 2,018 yards and 11 touchdowns. He’s an every-down type tight end averaging over 92-percent of the Buccaneers total offensive snaps for the past three years. Otton might not blow anybody away with his blocking, but he gets the job done and you can run any personnel group you want with him on the field. Cade is not overly dominant as a wide receiver but takes advantage of mismatches and soft spots in coverage:

There are a couple of problems with Otton. One, he is one of the few tight ends that does not wear gloves and has a history of drops at times. The other is he tends to vanish from games from time to time.

While not dynamic, Otton is an all-around competent tight end, which still has value, especially in a league that heavily utilizes two tight end sets. The biggest issue with Otton is his price tag. At one point he was projected with an AAV of $11M but is currently listed at under $8M. Established reliability may be valuable for the Commanders, who could be willing to pay more to guarantee Daniels and Blough have the tight end they need for the offense.

Chigozeim Okonkwo, 26, Titans

Height/Weight: 6’3″, 238 lbs

Career Stats:

Receiving & Rushing Table
							Receiving												Rushing									Scrimmage
Season	Age	Team	Lg	Pos	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD	1D	Succ%	Lng	R/G	Y/G	Ctch%	Y/Tgt	Att	Yds	TD	1D	Succ%	Lng	Y/A	Y/G	A/G	Touch	Y/Tch	YScm	RRTD	Fmb	AV	Awards
2022	23	TEN	NFL	TE	17	8	46	32	450	14.1	3	22	50.0	48	1.9	26.5	69.6	9.8	3	2	0	0	0.0	6	0.7	0.1	0.2	35	12.9	452	3	0	4
2023	24	TEN	NFL	TE	17	11	77	54	528	9.8	1	25	48.1	39	3.2	31.1	70.1	6.9	2	6	0	1	50.0	4	3.0	0.4	0.1	56	9.5	534	1	0	5
2024	25	TEN	NFL	TE	17	11	70	52	479	9.2	2	19	55.7	70	3.1	28.2	74.3	6.8	1	17	0	1	100.0	17	17.0	1.0	0.1	53	9.4	496	2	2	4
2025	26	TEN	NFL	TE	17	12	79	56	560	10.0	2	24	45.6	43	3.3	32.9	70.9	7.1	0	0	0	0				0.0	0.0	56	10.0	560	2	0	4
4 Yrs					68	42	272	194	2017	10.4	8	90	49.6	70	2.9	29.7	71.3	7.4	6	25	0	2	33.3	17	4.2	0.4	0.1	200	10.2	2042	8	2	17
17 Game Avg					17	10	68	48	504	10.4	2	22	49.6	70	2.9	29.7	71.3	7.4	1	6	0	0	33.3	17	4.2	0.4	0.1	50	10.2	510	2	0	4

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/4/2026.

Spotrac Projection: 3 years, $23,895,012

AAV: $8.0M

I wrote about Okonkwo earlier in the offseason and you may find that profile here. Since that article published, Spotrac has adjusted his AAV down to $8M.

David Blough will still need a weapon in the passing game, and Adam Peters may look to the AFC to find the right fit. Chigozeim Okonwko was drafted in the fourth round of the 2022 draft by the Titans and has consistently contributed in the passing game, leading the team in receiving for 2025. Tennessee also enjoyed a breakout season from their rookie fourth-round selection, Gunnar Helm, and Chig has indicated he plans to leave Tennessee this offseason. While Okonkwo is a marginal blocker and on the smaller side for tight ends, he thrives in the short-to-intermediate passing game and excels at producing yards-after-contact.

Chig would appear to be an ideal free agent to pair with the likes of Ben Sinnott and John Bates and would give Blough the option he needs in the passing game. The problem comes from the tight end’s projected 3-year, $35 million contract, which may be a little rich for Adam Peters. However, I still think the Commanders GM will at least pursue Okonwko in free agency. The reason? Much like the running back market, free agency has several potential marquee names at the position including Kyle Pitts, Dallas Goedert, Isiah Likely, and David Njoku. When you add in Chig’s smaller size and inconsistent overall game, I believe the free agent tight end will ink a deal for less than his current projection. How much less? In my estimation, a three-year, $28 million deal should be enough to get the job done and add a dynamic threat for the Washington Commanders’ newest coordinator.

Greg Dulcich, 25, Dolphins

Height/Weight: 5’11″, 195 lbs

Career Stats:

Receiving & Rushing Table
							Receiving												Rushing									Scrimmage
Season	Age	Team	Lg	Pos	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD	1D	Succ%	Lng	R/G	Y/G	Ctch%	Y/Tgt	Att	Yds	TD	1D	Succ%	Lng	Y/A	Y/G	A/G	Touch	Y/Tch	YScm	RRTD	Fmb	AV	Awards
2022	22	DEN	NFL	TE	10	6	55	33	411	12.5	2	18	50.9	39	3.3	41.1	60.0	7.5	0	0	0	0				0.0	0.0	33	12.5	411	2	0	3
2023	23	DEN	NFL	TE	2	1	4	3	25	8.3	0	2	50.0	13	1.5	12.5	75.0	6.3	0	0	0	0				0.0	0.0	3	8.3	25	0	0	0
2024	24	2TM	NFL	TE	9	3	12	5	28	5.6	0	0	8.3	9	0.6	3.1	41.7	2.3	0	0	0	0				0.0	0.0	5	5.6	28	0	0	0
2024	24	DEN	NFL	TE	4	3	12	5	28	5.6	0	0	8.3	9	1.3	7.0	41.7	2.3	0	0	0	0				0.0	0.0	5	5.6	28	0	0	0
2024	24	NYG	NFL	TE	5	0	0	0	0		0	0			0.0	0.0			0	0	0	0				0.0	0.0	0		0	0	0	0
2025	25	MIA	NFL	TE	10	3	33	26	335	12.9	1	14	66.7	29	2.6	33.5	78.8	10.2	1	-7	0	0	0.0	-7	-7.0	-0.7	0.1	27	12.1	328	1	1	3
4 Yrs					31	13	104	67	799	11.9	3	34	51.0	39	2.2	25.8	64.4	7.7	1	-7	0	0	0.0	-7	-7.0	-0.2	0.0	68	11.6	792	3	1	6
17 Game Avg					17	7	57	37	438	11.9	2	19	51.0	39	2.2	25.8	64.4	7.7	1	-4	0	0	0.0	-7	-7.0	-0.2	0.0	37	11.6	434	2	1	2

DEN (3 Yrs)					16	10	71	41	464	11.3	2	20	43.7	39	2.6	29.0	57.7	6.5	0	0	0	0				0.0	0.0	41	11.3	464	2	0	3
MIA (1 Yr)					10	3	33	26	335	12.9	1	14	66.7	29	2.6	33.5	78.8	10.2	1	-7	0	0	0.0	-7	-7.0	-0.7	0.1	27	12.1	328	1	1	3
NYG (1 Yr)					5	0	0	0	0		0	0			0.0	0.0			0	0	0	0				0.0	0.0	0		0	0	0	0

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/4/2026.

Spotrac Projection: 1 year, $1,136,137

AAV: $1.1 M

On the surface, Greg Dulcich would appear to be an underwhelming option, even at a bargain-basement price. After posting 411 receiving yards and two scores on 33 catches across 10 games in 2022, the 25-year-old only appeared in six total contests and made a nominal impact across the next two seasons. Ultimately, he was cut by the Broncos in 2024 and claimed off waivers by the Giants. Greg was released by the New York Giants before the regular season and signed to the Dolphins practice squad in 2025.

Here’s where it gets interesting: after being elevated to the active roster mid-season, he finished on a nine-game run in which he recorded 335 yards and a touchdown on 26 receptions. Dulchich averaged a hefty 2.7 yards per route run from Week 9 on—the second-best mark in the league among qualifying tight ends:

The undrafted free agent has a history of inconsistent play and repetitive hamstring injuries, along with substandard run blocking. Still, there’s a reason to think he might be a fit for the Commanders. Dulcich’s rookie breakout came in 2022 when Nathaniel Hackett ceded play-calling duties to none other than Klint Kubiak. When he joined the Dolphins, some fans postulated that Dulcich could be a fit in Mike McDaniel’s offense as well which proved to be true. Both offensive coordinators utilize concepts from the Shanahan scheme, which David Blough is expected to emulate. There is a very good chance Dulcich would be a fit in Washington’s new offense.

Greg might not have the upside of super, no-longer-sleeper Charlie Kolar, but for $1.1M AAV, he would provide the rookie offensive coordinator a clear “F” tight end that is currently not on the roster.

Bottom Line

While the tight end room could use an infusion of talent, the necessary amount is up for debate. Adding a receiving threat would seem to be a requirement, but ultimately it will depend on how David Blough and Ben Steele view Ben Sinnott and the other depth in the room. The draft will certainly be an option with a lot of value available in the middle rounds. However, late round tight ends are rarely called upon to start right away. There are plenty of options in the free agency market that vary in skill level and price, including recently released Jonnu Smith and Will Dissly. Any investment they make at the tight end position over the next couple of weeks should be a strong indicator of how they view Ben Sinnott headed into the 2026 season.