AFC South

Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich sidestepped a question Monday about whether Carson Wentz would return as the team's starting quarterback in 2022.

"We loved the team we had this year, we knew everyone we brought in this year, we expected to play winning football," Reich told reporters "Next year's roster will be next year's roster. I don't want to open it up about one player and then start talking about all of them."

The Colts posted a 9-8 record and missed the playoffs in the first season after acquiring Wentz from the Philadelphia Eagles to lead the offense.

Wentz put together a solid campaign from a statistical standpoint. He completed 62.4 percent of his throws for 3,563 yards with 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions across 17 games. He ranked 10th in ESPN's Total QBR (54.4) and received a solid 70.9 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.

Context is a major factor in the discussion about his future, though.

The Colts featured a dominant rushing attack, led by MVP candidate Jonathan Taylor, which forced opponents to bring more defenders in to the box and opened up plenty of one-on-one matchups for Wentz in the passing game.

When Indianapolis needed the aerial attack to come through, it rarely did. Wentz threw for just 333 yards combined over the final two games of the regular season—back-to-back losses to the Las Vegas Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars that knocked Indy out of the playoffs.

"We've got to be better in the passing game," Reich said. "It was definitely below our standards, and there's multiple reasons for that. We have to take ownership of that as coaches and players."

The tough part for the Colts, even if they wanted to consider a change under center, is the lack of intriguing options available. There are no standout options ticketed for free agency, and it's not the strongest draft class at the position, so the route to a clear upgrade would likely be a blockbuster trade.

Otherwise, Indy is likely best off keeping Wentz, who's under contract through 2024, as their starter next season.

"We'll take it piece by piece," Reich said. "We'll evaluate [Wentz's] play. We'll evaluate how we're coaching him, how I'm coaching him, with each position in the pass game. Take it apart piece by piece, and then put it back together."

The bottom line is the Colts fell short of expectations this season by missing the playoffs, so it's not a major surprise Reich is unwilling to make a firm commitment at the sport's most important position.

Barring an unexpected trade, however, it's likely Wentz returns in 2022.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will interview interim head coach Darrell Bevell for the full-time position on Tuesday, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.    

The Jaguars fired Urban Meyer in December after just 13 games and a series of controversies. The team was 2-11 under his watch and 1-3 after Bevell took over.

Bevell, 52, has been in the NFL since 2000, serving as an offensive assistant until 2002 with the Green Bay Packers before becoming the team's quarterbacks coach between 2003 and '05. He then was hired as the Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator (2006-10) and held the same role with the Seattle Seahawks (2011-17), Detroit Lions (2018-19) and Jags under Meyer. 

His offenses have finished top 10 in the NFL in yards just three times and top 10 in points five times. 

But Jacksonville rallied around Bevell, beating an Indianapolis Colts team on Sunday that was fighting for a playoff berth, 26-11. 

Expect the Jags to search far and wide for their next head coach, however, with NFL.com reporting the team is expected to interview the following candidates:

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles
• Former Detroit Lions and Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell
• Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus
• Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett
• Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich
• Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore
• Former Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien
• Former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson
• Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn

The next head coach's job will be a tall order.

While the Jaguars have a talented young quarterback in place in Trevor Lawrence, they have made the playoffs just once since 2008. Yet again, they are firmly entrenched in a rebuild. Getting the right head coach in place, alongside surrounding Lawrence with talent—starting with the top overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft—will be key to getting this particular rebuild right. 

The Tennessee Titans have clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a 28-25 Week 18 win over the Houston Texans.

The team will now get the lone bye in the conference, as well as home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

Tennessee appeared a long shot to earn the top seed after losing three of four games from Week 11 to 15. But the squad has bounced back with three straight wins to finish 12-5, including a tiebreaking win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7.

It's an impressive accomplishment considering the injuries the Titans have dealt with this season, notably losing star running back Derrick Henry to a foot injury in Week 8. A.J. Brown and Julio Jones have also missed time along with key parts of the offensive line, but Ryan Tannehill has found a way to keep the offense afloat.

With players starting to get healthy, the Titans could be dangerous.

Tennessee went on a surprise run to the AFC Championship Game after going 9-7 in 2019, but last year's team stumbled in the playoffs despite higher expectations, losing in the first round to the Baltimore Ravens.

The challenge could be finding consistency, something that has eluded the Titans in 2021. Despite impressive wins over the Chiefs, Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams, they also have losses to the New York Jets and Houston Texans. 

Head coach Mike Vrabel will try to keep his team focused as it looks to bring home a Super Bowl title.

Tennessee Titans star Derrick Henry will not return for the team's Week 18 showdown against the Houston Texans as he continues to work his way back from a foot injury.

The Titans opted not to activate Henry on Saturday ahead of Sunday's game in Houston. He was previously designated to return from injured reserve, opening a 21-day window in which the club could choose to activate him.

Henry suffered a broken bone in his foot in Week 8, which required surgery early in November. Despite some initial projections that he would miss the rest of the year, he worked his way back from the injury to put himself in position to return for the postseason.

It would be a significant boost considering Henry's impact on the field. He led the NFL in rushing yards and touchdowns in each of the last two seasons, posting 2,027 rushing yards in 2020 for the fifth-best season in league history.

The All-Pro kept it up through the first half of 2021 with 937 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns through eight games, leading the NFL in each category at the time of the injury.

D'Onta Foreman has emerged from a crowded group to become a reliable runner for the Titans, but it's still a major step down from a healthy Henry.

The Titans can clinch a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs with a win over the Texans.

RoofClaim.com, a roofing company signed to a sponsorship deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars, is suing the team.

According to Mark Long of the Associated Press, the company wants to disassociate with the NFL franchise with Jaguars fans planning to dress as clowns at the team's regular-season finale against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at TIAA Bank Field.

RoofClaim wrote in a complaint filed in a Jacksonville circuit court Thursday that it does not want "its brand being emphasized as the primary sponsor of the clown game."

The company is looking for damages "in excess of $30,000" in a jury trial. It also asked for "temporary and permanent injunctive relief" from the Jags using RoofClaim's brand.

The clownout plans started came together after word emerged that the 2-14 Jags would bring back general manager Trent Baalke, which caught the ire of fans.

Per Long:

Jacksonville's finale will feature a “Klown out” in the stands. Hundreds, if not thousands, of fans are planning to wear clown attire—red noses, colorful wigs, face paint—in hopes of persuading [team owner Shad] Khan to fire Baalke, whose draft picks have been underwhelming and his free-agent acquisitions less than impactful.

The Jaguars are expected to finish with the league's worst record for the second straight year. Their offense is last in scoring (14.2 points per game), while their defense has given up the second-most points (27.9).

Urban Meyer's controversial tenure as head coach ended after 13 games.

Per Long, RoofClaim had an agreement that it could terminate its contract with the team if Meyer was not the coach between the end of the 2023 season and March 1, 2024.

The company said it tried to end its relationship with the Jags one day after Meyer was fired Dec. 15, but the franchise turned down the request.

A spokesperson for the Jags said the lawsuit is "baseless and without merit" and the franchise "will exhaustively protect our interests in this matter at every turn."

The Jacksonville Jaguars are 2-14 this season after going 1-15 last season, and rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence understands the frustration even if he wouldn't express it by dressing up like a clown.

"There's a lot of diehard Jaguars fans that this is very important to them," he said, per Mia O'Brien of First Coast News in Jacksonville. "Would I do that personally? No, I wouldn't do it, but fans feel how they feel. But it's hard after this year... I get the frustration."

Lawrence's comments come after it was revealed some fans plan on dressing in clown attire for Sunday's game in an effort to convince team owner Shad Khan to fire general manager Trent Baalke.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported the Jaguars plan to retain Baalke, who was hired as the team's director of player personnel in February 2020 and has been the general manager since taking over on an interim basis in November 2020.

What's more, Rapoport reported Baalke will be involved in searching for the next head coach alongside Khan.

That clearly didn't sit well with some frustrated fans, and Mark Long of the Associated Press reported they have responded by changing social media profile pictures to feature a clown with Khan's mustache and replying to posts from the Jaguars with clown emojis.

They will apparently continue that theme by arriving at TIAA Bank Field for Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts while wearing clown costumes.

"Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, Green Bay offensive coordinator Nate Hackett and Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich reportedly declined to interview with the Jaguars during the final two weeks of the regular season, leaving many to wonder whether Baalke’s presence was an issue," Long wrote.

While Jacksonville doesn't exactly have a long history of success to fall back on, this season has gone far from as planned.

Lawrence may be the franchise cornerstone for years to come, but he has struggled with consistency on his way to 10 touchdown passes and 17 interceptions. Injuries have also sapped him of many of the offensive weapons around him, and head coach Urban Meyer was a failure on his way to a 2-11 record before he was fired.

The franchise is in line to receive the No. 1 pick for the second year in a row, but there is no coach in place, a rookie quarterback who has not been particularly impressive and a group of frustrated fans.

Baalke will certainly be under the spotlight as he attempts to improve the team this offseason.               

The Tennessee Titans sit atop the AFC standings as the No. 1 seed and may become more dangerous in the playoffs if star running back Derrick Henry can return from his right foot injury.

ESPN's Dianna Russini reported Henry is expected to practice Wednesday with an outside chance of playing in the Week 18 game against the Houston Texans.

Russini deemed it a long shot that he plays against the Texans, but returning to practice would indicate he can return for the playoffs.

Henry was the Offensive Player of the Year last season as he made his second straight Pro Bowl, but he looked even better at times through the first eight games of the 2021 campaign.

The Alabama product tallied 937 rushing yards, 154 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, and he also threw a passing score, putting himself in the MVP discussion.

Unfortunately for the Titans, he hasn't played since Oct. 31 because of foot surgery.

Tennessee is 11-5 and on the verge of clinching the AFC's only first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, even though its star running back and wide receivers A.J. Brown and Julio Jones have been sidelined for stretches.

The AFC South team has turned to a combination of D'Onta Foreman, Dontrell Hilliard, Jeremy McNichols and even Adrian Peterson while Henry is out.

Russini's report echoes one from Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports that cited sources who said it's a "stretch" fans will see Henry against the Texans, but there is plenty of hope he will play in the postseason.

A healthy Henry would raise increase the Titans' ceiling as they look to land the No. 1 seed and parlay it into a Super Bowl run.    

Frustrated members of the Jacksonville Jaguars fanbase are planning to dress in clown attire for Sunday's regular-season finale at home against the Indianapolis Colts as the franchise wraps up its 13th playoff-less campaign in the past 14 years.

Mark Long of the Associated Press reported Monday the group's goal is to convince Jags owner Shad Khan to fire general manager Trent Baalke.

Some fans have already changed their Twitter avatars to a clown with a mustache resembling the one famously donned by Khan:

Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported last week Khan planned to retain Baalke, who's held the GM role since taking over on an interim basis in November 2020 following the firing of David Caldwell. He was hired in February 2020 as the team's director of player personnel.

The 57-year-old Wisconsin native previously spent 12 years in the San Francisco 49ers' front office, including six years as general manager, after starting his executive path as a scout with the New York Jets and Washington Football Team.

Jacksonville reached the AFC Championship Game in 2017, but its performance has sharply declined since that high point. It's missed the playoffs each of the past four years and posted an unsightly 3-29 record over the last two seasons.

Hope of improvement this season after selecting quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the first overall pick in the 2021 draft didn't materialize. A major reason was the disastrous tenure of former head coach Urban Meyer, who was fired in December after 11 months leading the staff, but the lack of roster upgrades around Lawrence was also a factor.

"It's been a wild year," Lawrence told reporters Sunday. "I haven't been around the NFL long, so I really don't know how everything works. But I'm just trusting who is in leadership positions. I have faith that we are going to come out in a way better spot next year than we are right now."

While it's unclear whether Khan would consider changing his stance on Baalke once the offseason gets underway, some Jags fans are planning to let their voices be heard in a unique way Sunday.

Tennessee Titans linebacker Bud Dupree has been cited for misdemeanor assault and is due for booking in three weeks, per TMZ Sports.

The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said shoppers started arguing with an employee at a Nashville Walgreens on Sunday night, left and then returned with Dupree, who grabbed the employee and his phone, according to TMZ Sports.

Police said that led to a physical altercation before the linebacker left the store.

Video surfaced Tuesday showing what appears to be part of the altercation (Warning: Twitter video contains strong language):

"We are aware of the situation and are gathering additional information," the Titans said in a statement Monday.

Grant Gordon of NFL.com noted the altercation allegedly began when the male employee was filming Dupree with his phone. Police arrived after the University of Kentucky product had left the scene.

The male employee was treated for a cut on his forehead, while a female employee received treatment for a cut on her hand.

Dupree and the Titans beat the Miami Dolphins earlier that day.

He spent the first six years of his career on the Pittsburgh Steelers before Tennessee signed him to a five-year deal prior to the 2021 campaign.

The Titans finish their regular season against the Houston Texans in Week 18 and can clinch the AFC's No. 1 seed with a win.