Bucs: Gage in hospital with neck injury

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.

“Definitely hope he’s doing well. He was moving so that’s a good sign,” teammate Lavonte David said after the game.

Staley remains with Chargers; Lombardi fired

COSTA MESA, Calif. — 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 on Tuesday 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.

AP source: Carthon hired as Titans’ GM

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — 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 Tuesday morning 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.

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.

Tickets for possible AFC title game in Atlanta to go on sale

ATLANTA — 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.

AP source: Schwartz hired as Browns’ DC

CLEVELAND — Jim Schwartz has never been afraid of big challenges. He’s tackling a new one in Cleveland.

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 on Tuesday.

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.

BRIEFLY

PACKERS: Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers believes he can still produce at an MVP level in the right situation if he opts to play next season. Rodgers discussed the uncertainty of his future plans Tuesday during his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on SiriusXM and YouTube. The four-time MVP hasn’t decided whether to return to the Packers, retire or request a trade.