AFC Notes: Colts, Jaguars, Texans, Titans

Colts

While injuries have forced him to miss 23 of a possible 32 games so far in his career, Colts’ GM Chris Ballard still has confidence in WR Parris Campbell.

“I still believe in Parris Campbell,” Ballard said, via Kevin Bowen of 107.5 The Fan. “He’s had some bad luck. Parris Campbell is good. He’s a talent. He’s a great kid and he works. He’s got a little more internal fortitude and mental toughness that I think he’s going to be able to overcome these tough situations he’s had to do deal with as injuries. He’s worked his butt off in rehab. He’s driven. He’s still young. He’s still talented. We think Parris is going to be a valuable member of this team moving forward I still believe in him. Our coaches still believe in him. We will get him healthy, get him ready for camp and let him compete.”

• Kevin Bowen of 107.5 The Fan says that while the Colts had confidence in impending free agent T Le’Raven Clark to play backup for Anthony Castonzo and Braden Smith, his December ACL tear means that his future with the franchise is most likely uncertain at this point.

Jaguars

• The Athletic’s NFL staff lists Jaguars DL Taven Bryan and TE Tyler Eifert as potential cap casualties. Cutting Bryan wouldn’t save much money, just $1 million with $2 million in dead money. But his role on the team appears to be decreasing and they expect the Jaguars to move on. 
• SI.com’s Todd Karpovich mentions the Jaguars as a potential free-agent fit for Ravens OLB Tyus Bowser given they have a number of his former coaches on their new staff. 
• The Jaguars announced more additions to their front office, including senior personnel executive Michael Davis, director of roster management Trip MacCracken and player personnel coordinator Drew Hughes.

Texans

Texans WR Andre Johnson hardly speaks publicly. So when he tweeted support for QB Deshaun Watson‘s trade request, it made a lot of waves. Johnson has been involved with the organization for a while and consulted on the search committee that went off the rails. He elaborated — kind of — on his behind-the-scenes view that led him to support Watson 

“I’ve been around the organization for a long time,” Johnson said in a podcast interview with former NFL WR Harry Douglas. “I worked there last season. It’s just certain things you see. Being able to be on that side of it, it’s just certain things that you see that you know are not right.”

• SI.com’s Todd Karpovich mentions the Texans as a potential free-agent fit for Ravens OLB Tyus Bowser since he’s from Houston and went to college there. 

Titans

It’s pretty apparent from listening to Titans GM Jon Robinson talk that he’s not expecting to be able to afford to keep WR Corey Davis and TE Jonnu Smith in 2021. He said he’s had similar conversations with them as he had with RT Jack Conklin last year, who ended up signing a big-money deal to join the Browns. 

“I had the same conversation at the end of the season with those guys that I had with Jack Conklin a year ago,” Robinson said via Pro Football Talk. “I was like, hey, you’ve done everything we’ve asked you here and we’re going to be competitive and try to keep you. But at the end of the day, you’re going to have a decision to make if you have suitors with other teams. And I had that same discussion with those two guys. We’ll see what we can figure out. But at the end of the day, if they choose to capitalize on free agency and the market, I wish them nothing but the best. They’ve done everything we’ve asked them to do.”

• The Athletic’s NFL staff lists Titans CB Malcolm Butler, S Kenny Vaccaro and WR Adam Humphries as potential cap casualties.
• While Butler played really well in 2020, Tennessee could save more than $10 million by cutting him, which is a sizable chunk of change this year. 
• ESPN’s Dan Graziano notes the Titans could instead rescind CB Adoree’ Jackson‘s fifth-year option which doesn’t become guaranteed until the start of the league year and would save them $10.244 million.