Tag: Khari Blasingame

Bears envision bigger role for FB Khari Blasingame

The Bears have more in mind for FB Khari Blasingame than just being an elite blocker.

For the first time in four years, the Chicago Bears have a fullback on the roster. They signed Khari Blasingame to a one-year deal this offseason, where he’s expected to serve a key role on offense.

Blasingame served as the primary fullback for the Tennessee Titans since his arrival in 2019. But after being limited to 11 games due to injury, he fell down the depth chart in favor of undrafted rookie Tory Carter. Now, the Bears get a tough, productive fullback in Blasingame.

“What he brings to the team is toughness,” running backs coach David Walker said last week. “You don’t have to have pads on to just watch and feel him in terms of toughness. That’s from a physical and a mental standpoint.”

Blasingame’s addition has reflected the Bears transitioning to a run-heavy team with the outside zone. But Chicago has more in mind for Blasingame rather than a traditional blocking role.

“He’s going to be able to do some things for us outside of the traditional fullback role of just being an elite blocker,” Walker said. “He’s got some skills. He made a great catch out of the scramble drill today and went downfield. He’s good at the underneath slides. He’s a fullback by trade, but I wouldn’t consider him an old-school fullback role where he’s only going to be a lead blocker. He can handle the ball and do some things.”

The Bears want to employ as many playmakers on offense as they can — including fullback in Blasingame.

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Former Titans FB Khari Blasingame signs with Bears

After spending part of three seasons as Derrick Henry’s lead blocker, former Tennessee Titans fullback Khari Blasingame has signed a one-year with the Chicago Bears.

After spending part of three seasons as Derrick Henry’s lead blocker, former Tennessee Titans fullback Khari Blasingame has signed a one-year with the Chicago Bears.

Blasingame, 25, went undrafted out of Vanderbilt and was initially signed by the Vikings before the Titans claimed him off Minnesota’s practice squad in November 2019.

He’s the second half back to go to the Bears this offseason, with Darrynton Evans claimed off waivers earlier this month.

In 32 games with the Titans, Blasingame was utilized primarily on special teams, accounting for 45% of all snaps. On offense, he had just three carries for six yards to go along with ten catches for 97 yards.

With the Bears, he’ll likely have an integral role in Matt Eberflus’ offense as Chicago looks to bring back the I-formation.

Bears to sign FB Khari Blasingame

ALERT: The Bears are signing a fullback! Khari Blasingame announced he’ll be joining Chicago.

The Chicago Bears are signing former Tennessee Titans fullback Khari Blasingame, according to Blasingame’s Instagram.

Blasingame, an undrafted free agent by the Minnesota Vikings, joined the Titans in Nov. 2019. He appeared in the final six regular season games and three postseason contests with Tennessee.

Blasingame, 25, has appeared in 26 games over the last two seasons with the Titans. During his three years in Tennessee, he finished with three carries for six yards and 10 catches for 97 yards.

While Blasingame was the Titans’ primary fullback since his arrival, he fell down the depth chart in favor of undrafted rookie Tory Carter. Blasingame was limited to 11 games due to injury while Carter stepped into the starting role.

The Bears haven’t had a fullback since the 2017 season under head coach John Fox and offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains. Former Bears head coach Matt Nagy, who wasn’t a notable fan of running the ball, never employed a fullback on the roster. Although former Bears tight end J.P. Holtz normally filled the role on occasion.

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Khari Blasingame bids farewell to the Titans

After three seasons with the Titans, Khari Blasingame is saying goodbye to Nashville.

After three seasons in Nashville, fullback Khari Blasingame’s time with the Tennessee Titans has come to an end. The Titans declined to tender the Vanderbilt product, making him a free agent.

Letting Blasingame walk was expected after he was surpassed on the depth chart by undrafted free agent Tory Carter in 2021. Carter proved to be the better option, as his combination of speed and physicality gave Tennessee flexibility in the run game, something our Tyler Rowland broke down.

On Wednesday, the fullback took to Twitter to say his goodbyes to the Titans:

“It’s been real Nashville,” Blasingame wrote.

Originally an undrafted free agent signing of the Minnesota Vikings out of Vanderbilt in 2019, Blasingame latched on with the Titans later that season, playing in the final six regular season games. He also appeared in all three postseason contests Tennessee played in.

The 25-year-old played in 26 games over his final two seasons in Nashville and finishes his tenure there with three carries for six yards, and 10 catches for 97 yards.

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Grading Titans’ moves from Day 2 of legal tampering period

A look at the three moves the Titans made on Tuesday, with a grade for each.

The Tennessee Titans made a trio of moves on Tuesday, the second day of the legal tampering period of free agency.

Tennessee started off the day by releasing veteran cornerback Janoris Jenkins, a move that was fully expected.

The team then went on to agree to terms with its second outside free agent in former Houston Texans defensive back, A.J. Moore. Finally, the Titans reportedly declined to tender fullback Khari Blasingame.

One pending free agent who was lost to another team was running back D’Onta Foreman, who agreed to terms with the Carolina Panthers. My thoughts on why the Titans didn’t re-sign him are here.

With Day 2 of the legal tampering period in the books, and the official start of free agency coming on March 16 at 4 p.m. ET, here’s a look at how we graded Tennessee’s moves from Tuesday.

Note: Follow along with our tracker for all of the Titans’ latest moves.

Titans decline to tender FB Khari Blasingame

The move makes Blasingame an unrestricted free agent.

The Tennessee Titans appear set to part ways with fullback Khari Blasingame after reportedly declining to tender him on Tuesday, according to Justin Melo of The Draft Network.

Of course, it’s possible Tennessee could bring Blasingame back for cheaper than the tender price ($2.4 million), but chances are that won’t happen.

That’s because Blasingame was surpassed on the depth chart last season by 2021 undrafted free agent, fullback Tory Carter, who performed well in the role.

As president of the Geoff Swaim fan club (I’m vice president) and Titans Wire contributor Tyler Rowland laid out in a film breakdown of Carter, Tennessee’s offense was able to do more in the run game with him than Blasingame thanks to the former’s speed and physicality.

Blasingame is the second pending Titans free agent the team has declined to tender, with the other being right tackle David Quessenberry.

After two days of the legal tampering period, the start of the new league year falls on March 16 at 4 p.m. ET, when pending free agents officially hit the open market and can sign on the dotted line with teams.

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Titans rule out Rashaan Evans, Nate Davis, Khari Blasingame for Week 9

The Titans have ruled out three players ahead of the release of their final injury report.

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel announced that three players have already been ruled out for the Week 9 contest against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium.

Those three players are linebacker Rashaan Evans, right guard Nate Davis and fullback Khari Blasingame. This will be the second-straight contest in which Evans and Blasingame are absent.

For Davis, this is the first game he has missed since his rookie season. The Charlotte product and former third-round pick played 100 percent of snaps during the 2021 campaign.

As far as who the Titans tab to replace Davis is concerned remains to be seen. It’s possible the team will activate backup guard/center Aaron Brewer from Injured Reserve, but if not we could see second-round pick Dillon Radunz.

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Evans was replaced by third-round pick Monty Rice last week, but Rice was a new addition to the injury report on Thursday and was not spotted at practice on Friday. He was not among those ruled out by Vrabel, though.

Vrabel did say fellow linebacker Jayon Brown, who was recently designated to return from Injured Reserve, was close to returning, although it isn’t clear if he’ll be ready to roll for Sunday.

The Titans will release their full final injury report later in the day. We’ll have that for you as soon as it becomes available.

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Tennessee Titans 2021 training camp preview: Running backs

How will things shake out behind Derrick Henry for the Titans in 2021?

As far as the Tennessee Titans’ running back situation is concerned, you can pretty much start and end the conversation with Derrick Henry, who has been the team’s workhorse back since the end of the 2018 season.

Henry has won back-to-back rushing titles, rushed for 2,000 yards, and won an AP Offensive Player of the Year award while owning the vast majority of snaps out of Tennessee’s backfield.

His dominance on the ground the past two years is unmatched in this era, and as a result experts have been forced to rank him as the best running back in the NFL despite a lack of production in the passing game.

The other backs on Tennessee’s roster will be fighting for scraps behind Henry, but exactly which ones will get those scraps? And who will be the team’s insurance policy in the event that Henry gets hurt?

We’ll try to answer those questions and more as we preview the Titans’ situation at running back going into training camp.

Grades for Titans releasing Humphries, re-signing Borders and Blasingame

What grades do the Titans get for releasing Adam Humphries and re-signing Breon Borders and Khari Blasingame?

The Tennessee Titans have already started making moves with one notable player having been released and two others having been re-signed.

Wide receiver Adam Humphries was the first cap casualty of the Titans this offseason and figures to be the first of multiple with the team needing to free up cap space in order to make significant upgrades on both sides of the ball.

The other two moves were of lesser note but still stand to have an impact in 2021. Cornerback Breon Borders and fullback Khari Blasingame were both re-signed by the team.

Let’s see what grade the Titans get for each of these early offseason moves.

Titans agree to terms with FB Khari Blasingame

Khari Blasingame will be entering his third season in Tennessee.

Tennessee Titans fullback Khari Blasingame was set to be an exclusive rights free agent this offseason, but the team announced it has reached an agreement with the Vanderbilt product.

Blasingame and the Titans have agreed to terms on a one-year deal. The amount of the contract has yet to be announced.

The Titans signed Blasingame off the Minnesota Vikings’ practice squad back in 2019. He has played in 21 games over the past two seasons, serving primarily as a blocker for running back Derrick Henry.

The 24-year-old has zero carries during his tenure in Nashville but has been targeted 10 times, hauling in eight receptions for 93 yards.

Blasingame was one of three backs who are pending free agents for the Titans this offseason, along with D’Onta Foreman and Senorise Perry. He is also the second Titans pending free agent to come to terms with the team after cornerback Breon Borders was re-signed on March 1.

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