UNDATED (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have made the easy move opening the 21-day window for Derrick Henry to practice with the team. The next decision and the timing is much more challenging. Taking the 2020 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year off injured reserve by Sunday means he could help beat Houston and clinch the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
Waiting means hoping the Titans earn the first-round bye without Henry giving him more time from Oct. 31 when he broke his right foot.
Henry was the NFL’s leading rusher with 937 yards when he was put on injured reserve. He still ranks sixth in the league despite missing eight games.
In other NFL news:
— The AFC North champion Cincinnati Bengals won’t play quarterback Joe Burrow this week to make sure he is healthy for the first round of the playoffs. Burrow is nursing aches and pains, including his right knee and sore pinky finger but said he could have played Sunday at Cleveland had it been necessary. Running back Joe Mixon and other key starters went on the reserve/COVID-19 list this week but are eligible to test out after five days if they are asymptomatic.
— Mixon and Dallas star rookie linebacker Micah Parsons are the latest big-name players added to the COVID-19 reserve list. If he can’t play Sunday against Philadelphia, Parsons will finish the season with 13 sacks, 1 1/2 behind the rookie record set by Tennessee’s Jevon Kearse in 1999. Mixon joins Bengals sacks leader Trey Hendrickson and a handful of other key players for Cincinnati on the COVID-19 list headed into Sunday’s finale against Cleveland.
— Jimmy Garoppolo has resumed throwing for the 49ers and took part in practice in a limited role, saying his sprained right thumb still hurts. Garoppolo tore a ligament in the thumb on Dec. 23 and was held out of practice last week. The Niners don’t know whether he or rookie Trey Lance will start. San Francisco makes the playoffs with a win.
— Kirk Cousins has returned to the Vikings from COVID-19 reserve. He missed the previous game while experiencing mild symptoms. Vikings coach Mike Zimmer plans to play Cousins and all of the other regulars who are healthy enough.
— Bears coach Matt Nagy insists he has not been informed by his bosses that the season finale at Minnesota will be his last game leading the team. Nagy could be on his way out after four seasons with the Bears owning a 6-10 record heading into Sunday’s game. Nagy expects rookie quarterback Justin Fields to start against the Vikings after missing the past two games because of an ankle injury.
— The NFL has looked into other potential sites for next month’s Super Bowl amid a rise in COVID-19 cases, though the league always develops contingency plans for the game. An NFL spokesperson says the league still plans to play Super Bowl 56 as scheduled in Los Angeles on Feb. 13 but adds the NFL has contacted several clubs to inquire about stadium availability in the event the Super Bowl can’t be played as scheduled. The Cowboys’ stadium reportedly is one of the facilities contacted.
— The league has issued a warning to teams that they could lose a draft pick and face significant fines if club representatives conduct themselves unprofessionally in interviews with draft prospects. The league said a team would forfeit a draft pick between the first and fourth round and be fined a minimum of $150,000 if it’s determined a club representative displayed conduct that is “disrespectful, inappropriate, or unprofessional” during an interview. Fines and/or suspensions of individual club employees also could be imposed.