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After her swan song as NXT women's champion, WWE abruptly released Mandy Rose, leaving her pro-wrestling future in question.

On the latest episode of NXT, Roxanne Perez ended the head of Toxic Attraction's 413-day reign. It was a monumental achievement for The Prodigy that marked a changing of the guard for the developmental brand. Unfortunately, Rose's controversial exit dominated the news cycle on Thursday.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter: "She's had the subscription service, and it got popular and lucrative. She went further and further, and the feeling was that she way, way, way crossed the line. They believe that they had absolutely no choice but to get rid of her in that situation. Again, everyone's situation is different. They promised sponsors a cleaner product as far as who the people are."

A major title loss would usually signal an end to someone's time with NXT. Apparently, Perez was a last-minute decision because WWE had already planned to release the former champion.

It's an abnormal situation, but Rose is seemingly still in good spirits. PWInsider reported that she posted the following message on her FanTime account: "Hey guys, thank you for all the messages. I am overwhelmed with all the love and support from you guys. And don't worry the page is still up! ;)"

We should also note that the woman Corey Graves deemed "God's Greatest Creation" could potentially return to WWE someday. Bryan Alvarez stated that he was under the impression that the company hadn't closed on the idea.

There is even a precedent for this because Zelina Vega went through a similar situation in 2020. Although her third-party content wasn't explicit, she was welcomed back eight months later.

Stranger things have happened. If she doesn't end up back with WWE after the dust settles, let's look at two more options for Rose.

An Unlikely Call-up to Another Brand

The former NXT women's champion is in a better position than some fans might initially think. Her character change may have been divisive, but it's impossible to deny that going back to the developmental stage was a successful move.

The 32-year-old auspiciously reinvented herself and essentially became the face of the brand. Many on-air segments centered around Toxic Attraction, and the stable held all of its women's titles.

As such, the trio seemed destined to finish up and make a big splash on the main roster next year. Instead, Rose is in a unique situation as a wrestler who just experienced the best run of her career.

Her stint with NXT proved that she could thrive given the right opportunity and environment to continue to grow. Even more, the controversy ironically allowed her to leave before WWE booked her in a smaller role, and she's probably more popular than ever.

This would make her an intriguing addition to All Elite Wrestling's women's division. She could immediately offer the company someone with name recognition and significant buzz. Even more, Rose would add variety to a roster that primarily focuses on work rate and grounded characters.

Some of AEW's core fanbase may reject her. However, it would give Tony Khan the chance to introduce a heel character that immediately clashes with his established babyfaces and subdued presentation.

It wouldn't even be a bad idea to lean into her superficial traits and play up the fact that she would be coming in with more success than other women he signed. Rose would probably stand out like a sore thumb, but that could be an advantage because she brings something drastically different to the table.

There is also a bevy of fresh matchups for her and names from WWE she has experience working with. Given their time together as Absolution, Saraya quickly comes to mind as a potential opponent.

Could Mandy Rose Enter the Impact Zone

Impact Wrestling would also be a terrific option for the Yorktown Heights, New York, native. The Knockouts division is consistently a highlight of its programming.

The company also utilizes most of its women better than its competitors, so Scott D'Amore and Gail Kim would likely find an ideal spot for her. Her persona would also be a more natural fit because Impact has done other acts in that wheelhouse.

This may not be the most glamorous move for Rose, but it would allow her to continue to build up a substantial body of work. Working with names like Jordynne Grace, Masha Slamovich, Killer Kelly, Su Yung and Giselle Shaw could be a nice change of pace as well.

Signing with Impact helped Deonna Purrazzo turn her release into a remarkable success story in 2020. It could be just as beneficial for Rose. In fact, she has a bit of a head start because she doesn't have to recreate her mystique as The Virtuoso did.

Wherever she goes, Rose can say she went out on top as the third-longest reigning women's champion in NXT history. More to the point, she can legitimately claim she redefined the brand in her image.

Her status may seem dire now, but the NXT star will land on her feet. It's a safe bet that she will eventually head back to WWE. Regardless, she will find a way to get back on TV in 2023 even if it's with a new home. She has proved she is willing to take setbacks in stride and exceed expectations, which makes her valuable.

Just as we all expected at the start of the 2022 NFL season, the league's 2023 offseason could hinge significantly on the fates of Geno Smith and Jared Goff.

Yeah, the NFL never stops making us use the ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ emoji.

See, just a few months ago, preseason mock drafts almost always had the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions picking in the top 10, partly due to the fact that Smith and Goff were their respective quarterbacks. That was especially the case with the Seahawks, who appeared to be entering a post-Russell Wilson bridge year with Smith serving as a placeholder, but the Lions were also widely expected to struggle ahead of a year in which they can save more than $20 million by parting ways with Goff.

Unsurprisingly, a lot of those mock drafts also had at least one but often both of those teams selecting quarterbacks in the top portion of Round 1.

Well, never mind that. In the midst of the home stretch, Seattle and Detroit are both scrapping for playoff positions in the NFC. They entered Week 15 a combined 13-13 with positive scoring margins, in large part due to the fact that Smith and Goff both rank in the top 10 among qualified passers in terms of touchdown throws, yards per attempt, passer rating and QBR.

Smith has completely salvaged a once-nearly-forgotten career, while Goff is playing possibly the best football of his life for an inspiring Lions squad. Both are also certainly earning themselves a lot of money, because the former is scheduled to hit free agency this offseason while the latter is increasing the chances that the Lions hand him the $30.65 million he's owed for 2023 rather than cutting him loose for about a third of that rate.

But it gets even more bizarre than that, because the irony is the Seahawks are still on track to land the second overall pick and the Lions are still in line for the fourth overall selection. That's because Wilson and the Denver Broncos are having such a shockingly miserable year after that trade sent a first-rounder to Seattle, while Matthew Stafford's Los Angeles Rams have experienced a Murphy's Law-level Super Bowl hangover two years after shipping two first-rounders to the Motor City in the Goff-Stafford swap.

It'd be pretty odd if the season ended today, but if that were to happen, the Seahawks would possess the second and 17th overall picks, and the Lions would be on the clock at four and 15.

Now, both teams are left with intriguing decisions to make. If they wind up with premium top-10 picks, do they still take quarterbacks? It's entirely possible these are aberrational seasons for both Smith and Goff, who will both be quite expensive compared to rookies like Bryce Young. C.J. Stroud, Will Levis or Anthony Richardson in the next few years.

An early-offseason decision to go quarterback in the draft and cut bait from either vet could enable either team to spend much more in free agency, increasing their chances of taking a step forward (or at least maintaining status quo) with pro-ready rookies under center.

But on the other hand, a decision not to go signal-caller on April 27 would allow either already-seemingly-playoff-caliber squad to add two more pro-ready non-quarterback weapons each that evening (with the draft capital to move up for practically anybody they want).

Imagine this Seattle team in 2023, with Smith proving 2022 wasn't a fluke and, say, Will Anderson Jr. or Jalen Carter and Christian Gonzalez, Kelee Ringo or Joey Porter Jr. on defense?

Imagine this Detroit team in 2023, with Goff continuing to finally live up to his potential and, say, Anderson or Carter and Gonzalez, Ringo or Porter on defense?

That'd terrify the rest of the conference.

Beyond that, the "quarterback or no quarterback" calls in Detroit and Seattle will have ripple effects throughout the league inside and outside of the draft. Teams that right now could be in the mix for guys like Young, Stroud, Levis or Richardson—the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts and Carolina Panthers, in particular—could decide to instead pursue Goff or Smith if either were to become available in the spring.

In other words, until we have word on where Goff and Smith will reside next season, 2023 mock drafts might be more out to lunch than ever.

But that's what we love about this ¯\_(ツ)_/¯-inducing league, right?

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan isn't satisfied with just winning a division title.

Speaking to reporters after the Niners clinched the NFC West with a 21-13 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night, Shanahan said this "isn't our final goal by any means."

"I'm very proud of our team and what we accomplished throughout the year to get to this," he added. "Our goal is to get into the tournament, and we accomplished that today, but now it's all trying to set that up to be the best situation we can and hopefully get some of our guys back, too, in the process."

The 49ers were something of an unknown coming into this season, despite reaching the NFC Championship Game last year.

Trey Lance was set to take over as the starting quarterback, though they did have Jimmy Garoppolo as the No. 2 signal-caller on the roster. It was unclear what the offense would look like with Lance at the helm.

A fractured ankle ended Lance's season in Week 2. Garoppolo had some struggles initially as he was getting back up to speed against opposing defenses, but he was in the midst of arguably his best season with 2,437 passing yards and 16 touchdowns.

Garoppolo suffered a broken bone in his foot against the Miami Dolphins in Week 13. While it remains unclear if he will be able to return this season, Brock Purdy has kept the offense playing at a high level.

The final pick in the 2022 NFL draft, Purdy is completing 69.1 percent of his passes for 612 yards with six touchdowns and one interception in the past three games. Christian McCaffrey has been incredible with 880 yards from scrimmage and seven total touchdowns in eight games since being acquired from the Carolina Panthers.

San Francisco's defense, meanwhile, leads the NFL in points allowed (15.0 per game) and yards allowed (286.1 per game).

Shanahan's attempt to downplay winning the division title makes sense. This 49ers have had a Super Bowl-caliber roster for the past four seasons. They advanced to the Super Bowl in 2019 before losing to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Injuries derailed San Francisco's 2020 season, but it rebounded with a run to the NFC title game last season.

Since a 3-4 start this season, the 49ers have rattled off seven consecutive wins to clinch their second division title in the past four years. They are certainly capable of being the NFC representative in Super Bowl 57 if Purdy and the defense keep playing at a high level going into the postseason.