NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans are getting back cornerback Adoree’ Jackson in time for their AFC wild-card game with the New England Patriots.

The Titans (9-7) already are without cornerback Malcolm Butler who broke his left wrist Nov. 3 in a loss to Carolina. Jackson had missed the past four games after hurting a foot in a win Dec. 1 at Indianapolis.

But Jackson practiced all week, and the Titans listed him as available in their injury report for Saturday night’s game with the Patriots (12-4).

“They wouldn’t put me out there if I wasn’t, so I’m good to go, ready to go, and excited,” Jackson said after Thursday’s practice.

The 18th draft pick overall in 2017 out of Southern California started 10 of his 11 games this season. Without Jackson, the Titans started Tramaine Brock Sr. opposite Logan Ryan after claiming the veteran off waivers.

The Titans will be without wide receiver Adam Humphries for a fifth straight game with an injured ankle. But receiver and returner Kalif Raymond, who missed the regular season finale with a concussion, is questionable along with safety and special teams ace Dane Cruikshank (illness).

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GIANTS: New York started its third search for a head coach since 2015, talking to Dallas defensive assistant coach Kris Richard. The 40-year-old Richard met with co-owner John Mara, General Manager Dave Gettleman, vice president of football operations Kevin Abrams and other staff members.

Richard has been the Cowboys’ defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach for the past two seasons. Prior to Dallas, he spent eight seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, helping develop a secondary that included Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, Brandon Browner and Byron Maxwell. He was Seahawks defensive coordinator from 2015-17.

The interview took place three days after Pat Shurmur was fired after posting a 4-12 record this season and winning nine games in his two-year tenure. Shurmur had replaced Ben McAdoo, who was hired in 2016 and fired in early December 2017 with the team en route to a 3-13 record. McAdoo was picked to replace Tom Coughlin (2004-15), who won two Super Bowls and then missed the playoffs in his final four seasons.

SAM WYCHE, who pushed the boundaries as an offensive innovator with the Cincinnati Bengals and challenged the NFL’s protocols along the way, has died. He was 74.

Wyche, who had a history of blood clots in his lungs and had a heart transplant in 2016 in Charlotte, North Carolina, died Thursday of melanoma, officials with the Bengals confirmed.

One of the Bengals’ original quarterbacks, Wyche was known for his offensive innovations as a coach. He led the Bengals to their second Super Bowl during the 1988 season by using a no-huddle offense that forced the league to change its substitution rules.

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49ERS: Linebacker Kwon Alexander returned to practice Thursday for the first time since tearing his pectoral muscle midway through the season. The Niners opened up the three-week practice window for Alexander to be activated from injured reserve in the playoffs. He has not been cleared yet for contact. Alexander was placed on IR after getting injured Oct. 31 in Arizona.

LIONS: Coach Matt Patricia announced that defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni is leaving the team to be closer to his family in Connecticut, and offensive line coach Jeff Davidson is taking an indefinite leave from the profession.

Patricia fired six members of his staff earlier in the week, hoping changes will help him in a third season that might be his last if there isn’t a turnaround. The Lions were 3-12-1 in 2019 after losing 10 games the previous year in Patricia’s debut as a head coach.

BILLS: Starting defensive end Shaq Lawson (hamstring) and starting cornerback Levi Wallace (ankle) are both questionable for Saturday’s wild-card game at Houston.

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