AFC Notes: Brian Callahan, Will Levis, Laremy Tunsil, Texans, Titans

Texans

During his draft experience, Texans LT Laremy Tunsil had a video that surfaced showing him smoking marijuana from a gas mask. His social media account was hacked, and the video saw him fall to pick No. 13, which cost him roughly $8 million.

“I was panicking a little bit, and I’m just like ‘Don’t let my mom and my auntie see this,'” Tunsil said, via DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN. “How can we get this cleaned up and remove this as fast as possible?…To this day, I still have that chip on my shoulder just to prove everybody wrong. … It just showed everyone I do make mistakes, but that’s not who I am. So that was just one part of the journey. But I want the gold jacket. I want to be known as one of the best ever.”

Tunsil has no problem talking about the incident these days. His career path saw him traded from the Dolphins to the Texans and he feels that he is one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL at this point.

“It just showed everyone I do make mistakes, but that’s not who I am,” Tunsil mentioned. “So that was just one part of the journey. I don’t really just look at it crazy. It’s always going to be attached to me. When my son gets a little older, I got to tell him what happened. But it didn’t slow me down. I’m one of the best tackles in the game. And every time I get done playing an opponent, they tell me that. It’s time for people to notice that; it’s time for me to get my kudos. … I’m getting it from peers, but I need to get it from [All-Pro voters]. I need my flowers and my respect.”

Texans

• Texans DL Denico Autry was fined $11,817 for unnecessary roughness (striking/kicking/kneeing), S Calen Bullock was fined $5,916 twice for unnecessary roughness (use of the helmet) and unnecessary roughness (hit on a defenseless player), DL Mario Edwards was fined $22,511 for roughing the passer (blow to the head/neck), CB Eric Murray was fined $9,788 for unnecessary roughness (low block), and P Tommy Townsend was fined $11,805 for unsportsmanlike conduct (removal of the helmet) in Week 15.

Titans

The Titans have elected to bench QB Will Levis in favor of QB Mason Rudolph after Levis had four turnovers in their Week 15 loss. Levis still has faith that he can be the guy for Tennessee moving forward despite another setback.

“I still believe that I can be the franchise quarterback for this team,” Levis said, via ESPN’s Turron Davenport. “I have the utmost confidence in myself and my ability to lead any team in this league.”

Titans HC Brian Callahan explained the decision to go with Rudolph and cited consistency as the main reason.

“I went back and watched a lot of things,” Callahan said. “It wasn’t for lack of coaching or pouring into, I mean we’ve given at every turn as much as we can to try to put Will in position to succeed, and he’s shown improvement. There’s a lot of things he has improved at, but there hasn’t been enough consistency at this moment.”

• Titans OC Nick Holz said RB Tyjae Spears is the healthiest he’s been this year after missing time earlier this season: “He’s as healthy as he’s been this season, and you could see the burst on Sunday.” (Jim Wyatt)