By Jake Russell

On the eve of the NFL free agency negotiating period, the Washington Redskins reportedly retained their only tight end that was set to hit the open market.

Four-year veteran Niles Paul was re-signed to a three-year, $10 million contract according to multiple reports.

Photo by Brian Murphy

Re-signing Paul is important for Washington’s tight end depth because of Jordan Reed’s inability to stay healthy and the fact that Logan Paulsen is more of a blocking tight end.

There was talk that the Atlanta Falcons would be interested in his services. Paul caught a career-high 39 receptions for 507 yards and one touchdown in 2014 and has returned 36 kickoffs in his career.