The Tennessee Titans have their choice at the cream of the crop with the No. 1 pick in April, and there's a fairly decent chance it will be Colorado star quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

That's who Shawne Merriman would personally go with – although Travis Hunter is a close second – but Merriman knows all too well that the No. 1 pick doesn't necessarily guarantee you get your guy.

Merriman, of course, was eventually part of the infamous Eli Manning-Phillip Rivers trade in 2004. Manning was adamant about never playing for the Chargers, but the team, then in San Diego, drafted him anyway with the first overall pick.

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Eventually, after the Giants drafted Rivers, the Big Blue sent Rivers, a 2004 third-rounder, and a 2005 first-rounder to San Diego for Manning. That first-round pick became Merriman (although, the Giants aren't complaining).

The Giants were in a great position to own the No. 1 pick, which led to Sanders himself actually being gifted a pair of Giants cleats for his bowl game. New York then won their third game of the season, losing control of the top selection, and they are now slated to pick third.

But, Merriman seems to believe there's a chance that Sanders' father and head coach, Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, could play a role in repeating history with the same team from 21 years ago.

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"I think Deion is smart by putting it out there that teams need to tread lightly, as far as what they plan on doing… I think Prime is smart enough to at least put the word out there that we're not just going with anybody, right?" Merriman said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. "But again, when you get drafted, I think things change, and anywhere in that top-five pick man is really a blessing for anybody."

Deion himself did say that "multiple IDIOTS… will say things that totally aren’t true regarding where I would like" his sons to play at the next level – but he didn't exactly rule out that he wouldn't influence it.

"If I say it I will say it directly to whom it may concern not a attention seeker," he said on X last week.

Merriman will get one more look at Sanders before the draft at the East-West Shrine Bowl, as his very own production company, Lights Out Sports TV, will live stream the game's practices later this month. Merriman got into television after his playing days were over a decade ago and felt the Shrine Bowl was a perfect opportunity to showcase his second dream.

"To get the opportunity now to have the live-streaming rights exclusively for us for the East-West Shrine Bowl practices, it's like, I wanted to play football as a kid. I dreamed about it. I wanted to play NFL, and to now be in this space that now, it's my ideas, it's my production, I'm putting together everything, and to have the ability to get in this space and get someone like the East-West shrine bowl, the 100th annual, it's a massive, massive deal for us. and we want go out and make this the most interactive practice week that anybody's ever seen," Merriman said.

The top pick figures to be either Sanders or Cam Ward, the latter of whom some sportsbooks have as the odds-on favorite at the moment. The Cleveland Browns, who own the second pick, are a true wild card with Deshaun Watson still rostered, so perhaps there is a chance Sanders will fall to the G-Men anyway. Deion also played professional baseball with the New York Yankees, so there is already a tie to the Big Apple.

The Giants announced on Monday that both general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll will be back for a fourth season despite going 9-25 in their last two seasons combined. Since joining the team ahead of the 2022 season, they have yet to draft a quarterback.

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The Tennessee Titans earlier Tuesday fired their general manager roughly three months before the team is slated to make the top pick in the NFL Draft.

The organization announced that Ran Carthon was relieved of his duties following a 3-14 campaign despite the team going on a free-agent shopping spree in the previous offseason.

 In his two seasons at the helm, Carthon was 9-25.

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With Tennessee owning the No. 1 pick in the draft, the move certainly caught the eye of Deion Sanders, whose son, Shedeur, is very much in the conversation to be the first name off the board.

Sanders took to X when he saw the news, simply writing, "WOW" with eyeball emojis.

Shedeur or Cam Ward figure to be the top selection, as the Titans seem to be in the quarterback market. They drafted Will Levis early in the second round of the 2023 draft, but it's been a roller-coaster for the Kentucky alum. However, franchise legend Chris Johnson did say the team would be "absolute fools" if they did not take Shedeur's teammate, Travis Hunter.

Titans team owner Amy Adams Strunk informed Carthon that the team would be making a change on Tuesday morning.

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"I've loved the time I've spent with Ran. He's a talented football mind, a great man, and friend to everyone along his path. It's impossible to ignore that our football team hasn't improved over the past two years. I am deeply disappointed in our poor win-loss record during this period, of course, but my decision also speaks to my concern about our long-term future should we stay the course," Strunk said in a statement. 

"I love this team more than you can imagine. To our fans: we know this level of performance isn't acceptable. We're humbled by your support as we continue to work towards building the team you expect and deserve."

Despite the firing of Carthon, head coach Brian Callahan will return next season.

The Cleveland Browns and New York Giants pick second and third overall, respectively, and while the Browns seem to be a wild card with Deshaun Watson still around, the G-Men desperately need to find their franchise quarterback. The question for them, though, is, will one be around by the time they are on the clock.

Fox News' Ryan Canfield contributed to this report.

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The Tennessee Titans secured the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft after a loss in Week 18. However, general manager Ran Carthon will not be making that selection. 

The team announced on Tuesday that, after two seasons, they have parted ways with Carthon. 

The Titans were 3-14 this season, and 9-25 over the past two years with Carthon at the helm. 

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Titans team owner Amy Adams Strunk informed Carthon that the team would be making a change on Tuesday morning.

"I've loved the time I've spent with Ran. He's a talented football mind, a great man, and friend to everyone along his path. It's impossible to ignore that our football team hasn't improved over the past two years. I am deeply disappointed in our poor win-loss record during this period, of course, but my decision also speaks to my concern about our long-term future should we stay the course," Strunk said in a statement. 

"I love this team more than you can imagine. To our fans: we know this level of performance isn't acceptable. We're humbled by your support as we continue to work towards building the team you expect and deserve."

Despite the firing of Carthon, head coach Brian Callahan will return next season.

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President of Football Operations Chad Brinker will lead the search for their new general manager. 

In the Titans statement, Brinker listed what he will be looking for. 

"I think the general manager position is unique to their respective organizations. This particular job, what we'll be looking for is someone who has spent their career as a scout, is a top-flight, top-level evaluator who has spent the majority of their career projecting college players to the National Football League, they've had a major hand in setting the draft board in preferably a consistent, winning organization, and you can see their fingerprints all over the roster," Brinker said.

"It is someone who wakes up every single day and the only thing they think about is building a roster, evaluating players, watching tape, working with the coaching staff. And, not just someone who knows how to collect talent, but someone who really understands how to build a team and how all the pieces fit together that I can work with not only in the short term, winning today, but building for the future, the long term, and understanding how all those pieces fit together. If you make a decision here, how it impacts a decision down the road, and really understand the full puzzle.

"At the end of the day, this person is going to be all ball, all day. They are going to focus on the roster and the coaching staff, and I'll continue in my role with handling all the other areas that surround the center of our program, scouting and coaches. So, I will support that person. But we are looking for a general manager who wakes up every day and is focused on building the team."

Whoever the new general manager is, they are armed with the top pick in the draft, and a little over $61 million in cap space, according to Over The Cap.

The big question for their new general manager is what they want to do at the quarterback position, after second-year quarterback Will Levis struggled this season. 

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As it stands now, the Tennessee Titans have the second pick in the NFL Draft, putting them in prime position for a potential franchise quarterback.

However, one of the greatest players to wear a Titans jersey believes they already have a franchise quarterback in Will Levis and wants the team to go another route.

Chris Johnson, one of nine players to run for 2,000 yards in a single season, wants the team to select two-way Colorado star Travis Hunter.

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"I want Hunter. I want Travis. Will Levis, we just got him. I think Will is going to end up being a good quarterback," Johnson told TMZ Sports. "Sometimes it takes time. You look at some of these quarterbacks, like Jordan Love and some of these other guys. They had time to sit down and learn. Like, years to sit down and learn. So, I feel like he's going to come into his own.

"I just don't feel like you do what we did previous years, where we have Levis and then two guys for cheap. I think we go in and see what Will Levis can do for us. Bring Travis on. … I think we would be absolute fools if we pass up on Travis at No. 2."

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Johnson said he would like Hunter to focus on playing corner while playing receiver in certain packages. Hunter won both the top receiver and defensive player awards for the 2024 season.

Hunter has said he would like to play both sides, but many experts predict he will fit more comfortably on defense.

It's been a struggle for Levis in his two NFL seasons. He's completed just 61.2% of his passes for 20 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 20 games. At No. 2, they could select Hunter's quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, or Cam Ward.

Hunter just won the Heisman Trophy in the closest vote since 2009, beating Ashton Jeanty. Hunter and Sanders both figure to be early selections in April.

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Do not call the Tennessee Titans soft.

It has been a struggle for the Titans, as they sit at 3-11 with a depleted roster and seemingly no quarterback after 2023 second-round pick Will Levis was benched.

They may not be good, but they for sure play with pride, according to head coach Brian Callahan.

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Callahan was asked on Wednesday about the notion that he coaches a "soft" team, and he went on a nearly two-minute rant in an effort to silence the critics.

"You really want to get me going today? To be honest with you, I think that's complete and total bulls---, if you want my honest opinion," Callahan began. "These guys are tough f---ers, man. They go after it every day, they play hard as hell. At no point have we ever put on tape, at any point this season, that this is a soft football team. I can't even wrap my mind around how that would even be a conversation. Just because we don't win games doesn't mean we're soft. These guys play their a-- off, they play hard, they play physical …"

"That means you just don't watch this s---. You don't do anything about it, you don't know what you're talking about, you don't know what you're looking at. I'm not gonna stand for anybody calling this football team soft. I think that's bulls---. If there's opinions out there that feel that way, they don't know anything about NFL football. I'd like you to walk in there and call one of these guys soft and see what happens. This is not a soft football team at all mentally or physically …"

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"There's no possible explanation to say this team is soft in any way, shape or form, mentally or physically. The way they go about their work, it's insulting to me, to them, to everyone who works here. No chance ever in hell would I ever admit that to be the case, and neither would anybody in this locker room. You can shove that one right up your a--, to be honest with you."

The Titans were able to pull off an upset in Houston against their AFC South rival Texans, but they have lost each of their three games since then.

Earlier this season, they traded DeAndre Hopkins to the Kansas City Chiefs, as he was unable to revert to his old form.

Tennessee will finish their season with games against each of their division rivals, and surely, Callahan is hoping that his team can show that his words ring true.

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Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis had a tough outing against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, and fans added a little insult to injury as well.

Levis was benched in the third quarter after he threw the third interception of his day to Bengals safety Geno Stone. The defensive back ran it back for a touchdown to essentially put the game out of reach for Tennessee. Mason Rudolph finished the game at quarterback.

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The second-year quarterback was 8-of-12 for 89 yards. He had three interceptions. Tennessee lost the game 37-27 and dropped to 3-11 on the year.

To make matters worse, fans noted that Levis’ ex-girlfriend Gia Duddy was at Nissan Stadium to take in the game. Duddy was tagged in Instagram photos with some friends. She wore a Titans jacket.

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Duddy gained notoriety in April 2023 as she sat with Levis in the NFL Draft green room as he waited for his name to be called. It never happened in the first round, though the Titans pulled the trigger in the second round with the 33rd overall pick on the gunslinger out of Kentucky.

As Levis was set to begin his rookie year, Barstool Sports’ "Pardon My Take" reported the couple broke things off after three years together. 

Duddy, a social media influencer, moved to Nashville prior to the start of the 2023 season.

Levis has 1,916 passing yards, 12 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions in 11 starts this season. But with the Titans only winning two games with him as the starter, the experiment may be over.

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Former Buffalo Bills star wide receiver Eric Moulds has been accused in a lawsuit of knowingly giving several women sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

The woman who filed the lawsuit told the Buffalo News that Moulds "knew, or should have known, he had a sexually transmitted disease" and failed to disclose the disease before they became intimate. The newspaper reported that Moulds allegedly gave the woman herpes simplex virus type 2.

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Herpes simplex type 2 spreads by sexual contact and causes genital herpes, according to the World Health Organization. It is treatable but not curable.

The lawsuit said Moulds’ pregnant fiancée contacted the plaintiff and recommended she get tested for STDs and that the plaintiff learned via social media of other women who claimed to have been given STDs by the former NFL player.

"I think about women that may be in the same situation I am, and I know what I would have liked to have seen for myself," she told the Buffalo News.

Frank LoTempio III, who represents Moulds, told the newspaper the allegations against his client are false.

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"We are in the process of gathering information/evidence and will be responding to the complaint, which we will vigorously defend," he added in a separate interview with Newsweek. "I will have more information and comments once the litigation process starts."

The lawsuit said Moulds allegedly contacted the woman in 2018 via social media and entered into a romantic relationship in January 2023, with the pair allegedly having their last sexual encounter in November 2023, according to the paper.

The woman said she tested positive for the disease in December 2023 despite having no sexual partners other than Moulds in that span.

Moulds was a first-round pick out of Mississippi State in 1996 by the Bills. He played with Buffalo through the 2005 season and spent the final two with the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans, respectively.

He was a Pro Bowler with the Bills three times during his career.

He finished his NFL career with 764 catches for 9,995 yards and 49 touchdowns.

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Tennessee Titans defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat went viral on Sunday for his run back during a fumble recovery against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was trying to go down for a sack in the second quarter when he was hit and the ball was knocked out of his arms before he hit the ground. Sweat recovered the fumble and started to turn up the field.

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Sweat, who is 6-foot-4 and 366 pounds, was met by Bengals offensive lineman Alex Cappa and he hit him with a vicious stiff arm. Sweat returned the fumble 30 yards and set Tennessee up at their own 41-yard line.

Unfortunately, Titans quarterback Will Levis turned the ball over with a fumble of his own on the team’s next possession. It led to a touchdown pass from Burrow to defensive end Sam Hubbard and tied the game at 14 apiece with 5:13 to go in the first half.

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It was the first fumble recovery of the defensive lineman’s career.

Sweat’s play was the talk of the NFL world.

The Titans selected Sweat in the second round of the 2024 draft out of Texas. He’s now played in 14 games for the Titans this season. He had 38 tackles, one sack and a pass breakup going into the matchup against the Bengals.

Cincinnati entered the game 5-8 and Tennessee was 3-10.

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Tennessee Titans rookie cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr. shared a powerful message this week after he went viral on social media for his generous gesture at a restaurant in Nashville that a single mother of six says helped her pay rent and afford winter clothing. 

Kristie Johnson, a waitress, recalled the encounter in a post on social media. She said that after the NFL player was asked for an autograph, he took it upon himself to bless her and her family further.

"He then proceeds to ask for my Cash App and sends me more than enough to pay the rest of my rent and get winter clothes for my kids," she wrote in the post. 

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"He doesn’t even know how bad I needed this help." 

Speaking to reporters about it this week, Brownlee said he planned to help out several people this month ahead of Christmas when he and his family went to dinner in Nashville after Sunday’s game.

That’s where he met Johnson and heard she was a single mother of six.

"That’s all I needed to hear," he said. "My mom was a single parent raising three on her own, and for her to have six, I know it's harder than what my mom went through. So, for me, just having the chance to help her — man, it touched me. It touched my family. It touched my mom." 

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Speaking to FOX 17, Brownlee shared a message to Johnson, thanking her for allowing him to help her family. 

"God bless you, Kristie," Brownlee said. "I appreciate you for letting me help you. It's something that I always planned on doing with just being in this level of profession. This is my dream, and one of my dreams was to always give back no matter where it's from. No matter if it's in my community or any other community.

"Nashville is a part of me now. It's home," he added. "I look forward to giving back to other families as well, and I hope you’re prepared for dinner. Thank you, God bless you and I look forward to seeing you soon."

Brownlee said he is also planning to take the family out to dinner. 

A fifth-round draft pick out of Louisville, Brownlee has started in every game since Week 4. He has 55 tackles and one interception in 13 games this season. 

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The Washington Commanders were, well, in command early in their Week 13 game against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, going up 21-0 in the first quarter.

Following one point-after kick, Commanders and Titans players had to be separated as tensions climbed. Titans defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons and Commanders offensive lineman Sam Cosmi appeared to be the two players mostly involved in the brouhaha.

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"Now we have shades of Michigan and Ohio State," CBS broadcaster Andrew Carlton said, referencing the incident that occurred after Saturday’s game between the two rivals.

Washington already was up 21-0 in the game through the first quarter. 

Jayden Daniels’ touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin made it so. Daniels and Brian Robinson Jr. each had a rushing touchdown in the game as well.

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Washington scored in the second quarter on a second Daniels-to-McLaurin touchdown pass.

The Commanders hoped to keep pace with the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC East lead. Washington lost against the Dallas Cowboys last week in a shootout at home. They entered the game against the Titans on a three-game losing streak.

Tennessee has had a rough season, and it’s looking like a high draft pick for the organization by the time this season ends.

The Titans have won two out of their last seven and have three wins overall. They upset the Houston Texans last week to snap a two-game losing streak.

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A quarterback duel ensued between the Tennessee Titans’ Will Levis and the Houston Texans’ C.J. Stroud on Sunday in an AFC South clash, and the improbable occurred.

The Titans and Levis came away with the 32-27 win to move to 3-8 on the season.

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The second-year quarterback threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine late in the first quarter to take a 10-7 lead. Then, on the first play of their drive with about 9:35 left in the game, Levis found Chig Okonkwo for a 70-yard touchdown pass. 

Tennessee’s big play gave them a 30-27 lead. Later, Titans linebacker Harold Landry III put the icing on the cake with a safety on Stroud at the 1:13 mark.

Levis was 18-of-24 with 278 passing yards. He was sacked eight times, fumbled the ball away and threw an interception but still got the Titans the win.

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Titans running back Tony Pollard ran for 119 yards on 24 carries. He scored a 10-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Calvin Ridley led the team with five catches for 93 yards.

Tennessee’s defense gave Stroud a headache. Linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr. and defensive back Jarvin Brownlee Jr. each picked off Stroud.

Stroud finished with two touchdown passes. He was 20-of-33 with 247 yards. He started the game with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Cade Stover on their first drive. He then found Nico Collins for a five-yard touchdown pass.

But there was no offense from the Texans beyond that.

Houston cornerback Jimmie Ward took a Levis interception back 65 yards for a score in the third quarter. It gave the Texans a one-point lead. Kicker Ka’imi Fairbain added to it with a 54-yard field goal.

But the defense couldn’t make the play to stop Okonkwo from scoring. It proved to be the major difference-maker.

Collins had five catches for 92 yards. Stover had three catches for 26 yards.

Houston fell to 7-5 on the year.

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NFL insider Ian Rapoport called out former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Mularkey after Mularkey revealed more than six years after his firing that he fed Rapoport a bogus story to get back at his soon-to-be former employer. 

During a recent interview on "The Jaguars Hour with Brent & Austen," Mularkey confessed that he knew he was about to get fired despite leading the team to its first playoff appearance in nearly a decade. 

To get back at the organization, Mularkey called the NFL reporter to plant a fake story that he was instead getting a contract extension despite the widespread belief that he was, in fact, on his way out. 

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"He reported it. It was all over the country that I was getting a contract knowing that I was gonna get fired, but I just wanted to see the faces on the owner and the GM, who was out to get me," Mularkey said.  

"When I walked in the next morning, there wasn’t a whole lot of conversation. It was like, ‘All right, you’re done.’" 

While Mularkey may have found joy in the moment, Rapoport wasn’t laughing six years later.

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"Those guys, yukking it up — pretty funny, for them, I guess, if you don’t care about accuracy and taking someone’s reputation and rubbing it in the mud," Rapoport said on the NFL Network Friday.

"Everyone said Mike Mularkey’s a good guy — he always was to me. I liked him. Thought he was very respectable. That is not cool. That’s not funny. I was a younger reporter then, and the amount of online hate and ridicule I got because Mike Mularkey thought it would be funny to get back at his old boss — it was not fun. 

"So, I don’t have much to say. I don’t blame Mike Mularkey, but I want to. And that was not cool, and that was not funny. And we should treat truth better than that."

Mularkey took over as head coach in Tennessee halfway through the 2015 season. In his final season with the team, he led the Titans to the playoffs with a 9-7 record. They defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the wild-card round before being eliminated by the New England Patriots. 

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