TAMPA, Fla. — Buccaneers wide receiver Russell Gage has movement in all of his extremities after suffering a neck injury and concussion in Tampa Bay’s wild-card playoff game against Dallas, the team announced Tuesday.
The Buccaneers said in a statement that Gage remained hospitalized overnight and would undergo more testing a day after being taken off the field by stretcher in a sobering scene that came just two weeks after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed and needed to be resuscitated during a prime-time game.
“I appreciate all of the texts, calls, thoughts and prayers you all have expressed towards my family and I,” Gage wrote on Twitter. “I just wanted to let you all know that I’m doing great and in great spirits! Thank you!”
Gage was injured in the fourth quarter Monday night when he stumbled on a route, went to the ground, couldn’t make the catch and took a hard shot to the neck from Donovan Wilson. He appeared to try to get up but couldn’t and slammed his hand into the ground in frustration.
Players from both teams took a knee and prayed while medical personnel attended to Gage. Tom Brady, who threw the pass to Gage, stood near the medical staff before the game resumed.
AFC CHAMPIONSHIP: The NFL has directed the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills to begin selling tickets for a possible AFC championship game in Atlanta on Jan. 29.
The game would be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium if both teams win at home in the divisional round this weekend. If either loses, the game would be hosted at the higher-seeded team.
The top-seeded Chiefs are hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars, while the No. 2 seed Bills are facing the reigning AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals.
The NFL mandated a possible neutral site for the conference title in response to a Jan. 2 game between the Bengals and Bills being canceled after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field.
Season-ticket holders from both teams who opted to purchase AFC championship game tickets will be able to take part in an exclusive presale beginning at 10 a.m. on Wednesday. Other fans interested in purchasing tickets can sign up for another presale that starts at 10 a.m. Friday.
If both the Chiefs and the Bills win this weekend, any remaining tickets for the game at the 75,000-seat Mercedes-Benz Stadium would go on sale to the public through Ticketmaster next Monday.
If either team loses, those who have purchased tickets will receive a full refund.
BROWNS: Jim Schwartz, who took a winless Detroit team to the playoff in three seasons, has been hired as the Browns’ defensive coordinator, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.
Schwartz spent the past two seasons as a defensive adviser for Tennessee. The 56-year-old was one of four candidates to meet with the Browns, who went 7-10 this season and had defensive issues from the opener. He previously worked with Cleveland General Manager Andrew Berry in Philadelphia.
Cleveland’s search for a coordinator began last week when Coach Kevin Stefanski fired Joe Woods after three seasons.
The Browns also met with Steelers assistant Brian Flores, Seahawks associate head coach Sean Desai and Eagles passing game coordinator Dennard Wilson.
CHARGERS: Brandon Staley will be back for a third season as the Los Angeles Chargers head coach.
The same can not be said for some of his offensive staff.
The team announced that offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and quarterbacks coach Shane Day have been fired after two years.
Staley has a 19-16 record, including playoffs, in his two seasons. He led the Chargers to their first playoff appearance since 2018 with a 10-7 regular-season mark.
The Chargers fell to the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-30 in Saturday’s AFC wild-card round game after blowing the third-largest lead in postseason history.
Los Angeles was up 27-0 late in the second quarter before the Jaguars rallied.
BEARS: Kevin Warren is ready to tackle a new challenge as president and CEO of the Chicago Bears, and he has a big one on his hands leading the founding NFL franchise.
A new suburban stadium could be on the horizon. The team owns the No. 1 pick in the draft coming off one of the worst seasons in franchise history. And he’s looking forward to working with General Manager Ryan Poles and Coach Matt Eberflus.
“It’s because of the challenge, the opportunity,” Warren said at his introductory news conference. “I trust Ryan, I trust Coach Matt that we’re going to do things the right way. We’re not going to take shortcuts. We’re going to build an incredible franchise. I came here to win championships.”
He said he’s a “big believer in challenges” and wouldn’t have been as attracted to the job “if it were easy.”
Warren, who replaces the retiring Ted Phillips, is scheduled to start his new job in April, though he said he’s already begun work.
TITANS: A person familiar with the decision says the Tennessee Titans are hiring San Francisco director of player personnel Ran Carthon as their new general manager.
The Titans interviewed their seventh candidate in Buffalo senior director of pro scouting Malik Boyd.
The search committee headed by controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk picked Carthon, whose first interview was last Friday, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Titans have not commented on the hiring. Carthon will be the franchise’s first minority general manager.
The 49ers will host Dallas on Sunday night in the NFC divisional round after earning the No. 2 seed.
Carthon joined the Niners as pro personnel director in 2017 and has been director of player personnel the past two years. Carthon also interviewed last year for GM jobs with Chicago and the Giants.
He was a pro scout with Atlanta between 2008-11. He played three years in the NFL as an undrafted rookie with Indianapolis between 2004-06. He played running back in college at Florida. His father, Maurice, both played in the NFL and coached with seven teams.
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