Category: Latest News

2020 NFL Draft: Could the Titans add QB Jordan Love?

The Tennessee Titans have some decision-making to do at the quarterback position as they face a long offseason.

The Tennessee Titans have some decision-making to do at the quarterback position as they face a long offseason.

The writing has been on the wall for Marcus Mariota, who could be starting elsewhere next season.

Former Miami Dolphins signal-caller Ryan Tannehill was a huge asset on offense, recording one of the best seasons of his career after taking the reins in Week 7.

Whether or not the team choose to extend Tannehill or franchise tag him remains to be seen, and they could also make the move to pick up a free agent quarterback to draft a rookie this year.

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If they go the latter route, Utah State quarterback Jordan Love could be an appealing option.

The Titans could very well be in the running to draft Love, according to a report from Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller.

He ended off 2019 with a 61.9% completion percentage, throwing for 3,402 yards with 20 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.

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That’s five more interceptions than the first two years of his career combined.

In the previous year, he completed 64% of his pass attempts for 3,567 yards with 32 touchdowns and just six interceptions.

While he’s been knocked for this apparent “regression” we have to consider that Love lost his starting offensive line, strongest running back, top wide receiver, on top of his head coach resigning and being forced to learn an entirely new offense between those two seasons.

You’d be pressed to find a quarterback who would have handled those circumstances better than Love did.

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“I don’t really know what other people think,” Love told me after the Senior Bowl. “I’ve got confidence in myself, and I know I’m going to end up in the best situation for me. I’ve probably got doubters out there somewhere. Everybody’s got haters.”

It will be interesting to see what the Titans do in the first round in April, but Love will be a big get for whichever team he lands with, regardless of where that may be.

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Mike LaFleur reportedly won’t be joining former Titans OC Matt LaFleur any time soon

Needless to say, he won’t be going anywhere for now.

The Tennessee Titans lost Matt LaFleur last offseason when he accepted a head-coaching position with the Green Bay Packers.

His brother, Mike LaFleur, considered leaving his place as the San Francisco 49ers’ passing game coordinator to join him in Green Bay.

But that possibility is out of the picture now, as Matt LaFleur signed a contract extension in the postseason with San Francisco, according to a report by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

So, needless to say, he won’t be going anywhere for now.

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The 49ers can keep him from making a lateral move as an assistant, although LaFleur can still interview with teams for head coaching jobs upon their request.

Of course, the possibility for those type of interviews will rise if the 49ers can get a win over the Chiefs on Sunday evening.

So it looks like if the LaFleur brothers are to reunite, it will be later on down the line.

The 49ers and Chiefs are set to face off in the big game at 5:30 p.m. CST on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.

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Super Bowl LIV: Time, TV Schedule and How to Watch

Here’s a look at the broadcast information, as well as other important details to know about the upcoming game.

The Tennessee Titans fell just one game short of making an appearance in Super Bowl LIV, and will look to make another run for the big game in 2020.

This year, the matchup will be between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs, who the Titans fell 35-24 to earlier this month.

Here’s a look at the broadcast information, as well as other important details to know about the upcoming game.

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San Francisco 49ers vs. Kansas City Chiefs: Sunday, Feb. 2 at 12:00 p.m. CT

TV channel: FOX

Live stream: fuboTV ( try it free)

Location: Hard Rock Stadium

Weather forecast: Clear, 63 degrees

Point spread: Chiefs, (-1.5)

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T. J. Houshmandzadeh helping train Joe Burrow ahead of 2020 NFL draft

T. J. Houshmandzadeh will help train probable Bengals pick Joe Burrow.

The links to the Cincinnati Bengals just keep growing.

Former Bengals star T. J. Houshmandzadeh will work alongside Jordan Palmer and others while helping LSU quarterback Joe Burrow with his pre-2020 NFL draft training in the coming weeks and months.

Houshmandzadeh chatted with Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com on the topic:

“If I can drop him a nugget, help show him what an NFL receiver sees, every little bit helps. It showed his pocket presence and his ability to scramble and pass and run was impressive early on and that pretty much held true the rest of the season.”

Houshmandzadeh has been a mainstay around the Bengals in recent years, especially when he helped train up John Ross.

Ross has accredited his success in part to those training sessions with Houshmandzadeh.

Houshmandzadeh, while revealing this bit of news, noted he doesn’t think recent comments by Carson Palmer will impact much of anything when it comes to Burrow’s future.

“We’ve talked about it. We’re not going to say anything negative to Joe about the Bengals. Why would we?” Houshmandzadeh asked. “Teams are bad because their players aren’t good enough. If they get that player that’s good enough, guess what happens? Your team isn’t so bad anymore. I’m sure that’s what they’re thinking. I’m sure that’s what Joe thinks. Negative? Not at all.”

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Joe Burrow pulling an Eli Manning? Don’t count on it

Joe Burrow isn’t likely to pull an Eli Manning.

The idea Joe Burrow might pull an Eli Manning and refuse to play for the Cincinnati Bengals if drafted No. 1 was inevitable.

While that sort of speculation isn’t uncommon for any team with the first pick, it was bound to be especially potent for a small-market team like the Bengals.

But the rarity of an Eli Manning situation seems to hinge more on the prospect than the destination at times — and Burrow just seems unlikely to pull off such a controversial maneuver.

In pretty much any and every interview so far, Burrow has made it clear he’s just happy to be in the running for a top selection at all. Burrow wants a team committed to winning Super Bowls, yes, but there isn’t anything close to suggesting that was a shot at what is essentially his hometown team.

And the local storyline has to come into play here. Burrow grew up hardly three hours away in Athens, where his father coached. There’s big appeal to being near family, something his family has confirmed.

Speaking of family, there’s this note from Fox 19’s Jeremy Rauch to consider:

As much as the national perspective would love the drama of an Eli Manning situation with Joe Burrow, there are too many things working in the other direction. And for pretty much any quarterback, joining a coaching staff with multiple former quarterbacks, as well as skill position weapons like Joe Mixon, Tyler Boyd, Giovani Bernard, John Ross and perhaps A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert — plus perhaps free agents and draft picks — has to sound pretty good. Don’t forget he’s already good friends with some of the players, such as Ohio State pal Sam Hubbard.

And knowing Burrow’s competitive edge, the challenge of being the savior of his hometown franchise and the legacy-building chances might be pretty appealing.

Granted, a lot can happen between now and the draft. Things change in the blink of an eye during the draft process. But Eli-Burrow talk is just that — talk during the chattiest portion of the NFL schedule.

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Check out Joe Burrow hanging with Bengals stars, celebrities during Super Bowl week

Potential No. 1 pick Joe Burrow is hanging with Bengals stars like Sam Hubbard.

Cincinnati Bengals stars are very much doing their part on the Joe Burrow front.

Saturday, a note dropped saying defensive end Sam Hubbard was working the recruiting trail for Burrow while in the Miami area this week for the Super Bowl.

Based on plenty of social media posts, that indeed appears to be the case.

While the Bengals have a long, long way to go in the draft process before making a decision, it’s fun to chronicle the journey so far for Burrow, who looks like one of the most obvious No. 1 picks in recent memory.

Here are some of the posts — and a bonus with Rob Lowe:

View this post on Instagram

Just two Ohio boys.

A post shared by Rob Lowe (@roblowe) on

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Richard Sherman claims disrespect by Bengals fueled his early career

The San Francisco 49ers corner had an interesting interview recently.

Richard Sherman, one of the most prominent players in the upcoming Super Bowl between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs, has quite the interesting claim that involves the Cincinnati Bengals.

Speaking in an interview with The Athletic’s David Lombardi, Sherman revealed that disrespect by then-Bengals coach Marvin Lewis at the Senior Bowl back in 2011 gave him a chip on his shoulder. Sherman says Lewis yelled at him for getting beat on a play and that he wouldn’t get drafted.

Per Sherman:

“I was like, OK, you don’t know who the (expletive) you’re talking to, but I hear you. You’re the coach, so I can’t say (expletive) to you right now, but I usually get my revenge. And I’m gonna get my revenge.”

Sherman’s revenge on Lewis apparently came during Week 8 of the 2011 season when he intercepted a pass intended for A.J. Green:

“I got a pick on his team that he’s coaching, in front of his bench. And I threw the ball right at him, like, ‘You (expletive). Don’t you ever talk about me.’ That was my first career pick. I don’t have the ball from my first career pick.”

Video of the interception is unclear as to whether Sherman really flipped the ball to Marvin Lewis himself. Funnily enough, that was a 34-12 win for the Bengals in Seattle.

Of course, Sherman has been known to wildly exaggerate things that have been caught openly on camera in the past, so inject this one with a massive dose of salt. As if Bengals fans needed another reason not to root for the 49ers.

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Lamar Jackson nearly won Offensive Player of the Year award too

Saints WR Michael Thomas barely won the 2019 NFL Offensive Player of the Year award, beating Ravens QB Lamar Jackson by just two votes

The Baltimore Ravens cleaned up at the NFL Honors ceremony, winning multiple awards. But quarterback Lamar Jackson nearly won the Ravens’ fifth award and his third of the night with the 2019 NFL Offensive Player of the Year trophy. However, Jackson was edged out by New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas by just two votes, according to ESPN’s Jamison Hensley.

Jackson had a magical season that saw him win the NFL’s MVP and FedEx Air Player of the Year awards. He completed 66.1% of his passes for 3,127 passing yards, 36 passing touchdowns to only six interceptions while adding another 1,206 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. It’ll go down as one of the best overall seasons by a quarterback in NFL history after breaking multiple franchise and league records.

But Thomas’ season was also magical and deserving of the award, especially with Jackson winning the bigger MVP race. Thomas led the league with 149 receptions for 1,725 yards — ranking first and seventh all-time in NFL history for a single season.

Though it’s sad Jackson didn’t sweep the awards ceremony, how close he came proves that plenty of pundits are firmly in his corner now.

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Titans RB Derrick Henry named FedEx Ground Player of the Year

King Henry can add another jewel to his crown.

King Henry can add another jewel to his crown.

On Saturday evening at the NFL Honors show, Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry was named the 2019 FedEx Ground Player of the Year.

Henry was at or near the top of several significant rushing categories in 2019, leading the league in rushing yards with 1,540, third in touchdowns with 18 and fourth in yards from scrimmage with 1,746.

Henry also averaged 102.7 yards per game, making him the only player in the NFL to average at least 100 yards per game.

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Henry was the league’s rushing champ and led the NFL in attempts despite missing Week 16’s game against the New Orleans Saints. In addition to being named the FedEx Ground Player of the Year, Henry was also voted to his first ever Pro Bowl and was named second-team All Pro.

Henry’s performance reached a new level in the postseason, when he set the franchise record for rushing yards in consecutive weeks. Henry ran for 182 yards in the Wild Card win over the New England Patriots and then eclipsed that mark with 195 yards and a touchdown pass against the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional Round.

Henry beat out Nick Chubb of the Cleveland Browns and Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers for the award.

FedEx will donate $20,000 to the USO in Henry’s name.

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Ryan Tannehill named AP Comeback Player of the Year

Tannehill took over the starting job from Mariota after Tennessee was shut out by the Denver Broncos, 16-0 in Week 6.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill was named the Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year Saturday evening at the NFL Honors ceremony.

“It’s an honor,” Tannehill told reporters. “It’s something you never want to be up initially for, but it is such an honor just to be recognized for the fighting through adversity I’ve had to face over the past couple of years.”

Tannehill was traded by the Miami Dolphins to Tennessee last summer and opened the season as Marcus Mariota’s backup. In six seasons with the Dolphins, Tannehill put up solid numbers, throwing for 20,434 yards, 123 touchdowns and 75 interceptions while compiling a 42-46 record as a starter.

Tannehill took over the starting job from Mariota after Tennessee was shut out by the Denver Broncos, 16-0 in Week 6. After taking over starting responsibilities, Tannehill guided the Titans to a 7-3 record, and Tennessee made the AFC Championship game upsetting both the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots and top-seeded Baltimore Ravens along the way.

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In 10 starts and two appearances as a backup for the Titans, Tannehill threw for 2,742 yards, 22 touchdowns, six interceptions and completed 70 percent of his passes. Tannehill also picked up 185 yards on the ground and ran for four touchdowns.

Tannehill had a career resurgence in 2019, setting career-highs in completion percentage, touchdown percentage, yards per attempt and led the NFL in quarterback rating.

He was also selected to his first-ever Pro Bowl and named the 2019 Most Improved Player by the Professional Football Writers of America.

“I am so thankful for everyone who voted for me, and all of my teammates,” Tannehill said. “It wouldn’t be possible without a whole group of people that surrounds me and helps me on a daily basis.”

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