Colts
- The Colts ruled out CB Rock Ya-Sin and OT Will Holden this weekend, while S Khari Willis has cleared the concussion protocol and DT DeForest Buckner will play despite being limited in practice. (Joel Erickson)
- Colts HC Frank Reich noted Buckner’s ankle has improved over the past few weeks but tends to get re-aggravated every day. (Jim Ayello)
Jaguars
- Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer says the Jaguars have been talking to former Ohio State HC Urban Meyer for about a month, both through intermediaries and directly. He thinks Jacksonville owner Shad Khan will make Meyer say no and recruit him hard.
- Breer notes Meyer would be bringing in a program more than a staff and overhauling everything down to team nutritionists and strength coaches.
Texans
New Texans GM Nick Caserio released a statement through the team introducing himself to Houston.
“On behalf of my wife Kathleen and our entire family, I’m very humbled and honored by this opportunity to be the general manager of the Houston Texans,” Caserio said in a statement. “We would like to thank Janice, Cal and Hannah McNair for their belief in us that we can build something special that embraces the accomplishments of the past and accepts the challenges in front of us in our desire to be best. This moment would not be possible without the support and guidance of those that have invested in me personally and professionally. We are forever grateful to the Kraft Family, Bill Belichick as well as the entire New England Patriots organization that has blessed our family in ways we can never repay. Our goal now is to serve the Texans organization and the Houston community by putting together a team that we all can be proud of on and off the field.”
- John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reports under no circumstances will the Texans trade QB Deshaun Watson.
- CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora says the tenure of the Texans’ head coaching search has changed now that Caserio is on board, with the new general manager taking on a bigger role alongside owner Cal McNair and the search firm and team president no longer a part of the process.
- Patriots OC Josh McDaniels is not a candidate for the Texan’s head coaching job. (McClain)
Titans
Titans RB Derrick Henry won his second straight rushing title and became the eighth player to ever cross the 2,000-yard mark with his performance in Week 17. Henry needed 226 yards in the finale against the Texans and got 250, giving him nearly a quarter of his rushing total in Tennessee’s two games against Houston this year. Titans OC Arthur Smith said he didn’t have to do anything extra to get Henry his yards.
“We were, obviously, calling it to win the game,” Smith said in his press conference. “I can sit here and give you coach speak and [say] I wasn’t paying attention to it going in — I mean, everybody knew that he was close to 2,000 yards. But that’s not why he got it. He got it… it’s a credit to obviously taking care of himself. He’s coming up in big moments. And, really, how the offense blocked as a whole. We were going to do whatever we had to do to win the game — that hasn’t changed. And it won’t change this Sunday. It’s a credit to him and really the whole offense for how it worked out over the season and how it finished in Week 17.”
- Smith has been requested for interviews for every single head coaching vacancy. But he says his focus remains on his current job with Tennessee in the playoffs: “You can’t focus on that. You have to compartmentalize and say ‘here’s the job at hand.’ You can’t look down the road. It’s not right, you can’t cheat the job you’re in. There’s a time and place for everything. We have to go win, these guys deserve it.” (Turron Davenport)
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