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Across the NFL, Phase Three of the offseason is complete. All teams have completed their four-week program of voluntary organized team activities and mandatory minicamps. For most players, the time until training camp begins in late July is now a vacation.
But starting on Wednesday, a group of more than 40 NFL tight ends will be getting some more work done. Organized by the Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce, the San Francisco 49ers’ George Kittle and longtime NFL tight end Greg Olsen, Tight End University serves as a way for players to share ideas, learn from each other — and enjoy each other’s company, too.
Kelce’s teammate Blake Bell will also be attending the three-day retreat in Nashville, as well as Kittle’s teammates Ross Dwelley and Charlie Woerner — and a long list of other NFL tight ends:
- Mark Andrews and Eli Wolf, Baltimore Ravens
- Dominique Dafney, Marcedes Lewis and Robert Tonyan, Green Bay Packers
- Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson, Seattle Seahawks
- Eric Ebron, Pittsburgh Steelers
- Alex Ellis and Darren Waller, Las Vegas Raiders
- Evan Engram, Kyle Rudolph and Kaden Smith, New York Giants
- Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles
- Noah Fant, Denver Broncos
- Anthony Firkser, Tennessee Titans
- Mike Gesicki, Miami Dolphins
- Daniel Helm, Free Agent
- Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith, New England Patriots
- Chris Herndon and Chris Manhertz, New York Jets
- Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams
- T.J. Hockenson, Detroit Lions
- Austin Hooper and David Njoku, Cleveland Browns
- Hayden Hurst and Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
- Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears
- Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills
- Dalton Schultz, Dallas Cowboys
- Irv Smith Jr., Minnesota Vikings
- Luke Stocker, Free Agent
- Logan Thomas, Washington Football Team
- C.J. Uzomah, Cincinnati Bengals
- Ethan Wolf, New Orleans Saints
“I’m always big on building a brotherhood,” said Kittle, per Forbes. “A lot of these guys either don’t know each other or never communicated with each other. It bothers me.”
“When one tight end succeeds, everybody succeeds — like the tight ends were making under $10 million a year,” he continued. “To me, that doesn’t make any sense. I feel like the tight end position hasn’t been appreciated.”
This is the inaugural year for the retreat, which Kelce, Kittle and Olsen hope will take place on yearly basis.