Panthers cornerback Charles Tillman will have ACL surgery on Wednesday, according to Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer (on Twitter). Tillman is, of course, sidelined for the playoffs and, at this time, he has not decided about his football future. Tillman, who turns 35 in February, had a nice bounce-back season in Carolina this year after playing in just 10 total games for the Bears in 2013 and 2014.
Let’s round up a few more items from out of the NFL’s South divisions….
- Multiple Titans GM candidates, if they were hired, would choose against retaining Mike Mularkey as head coach, a source with knowledge of the team’s interview process told Jason Wolf of The Tennessean.
- Matt Hasselbeck will wait a few weeks before making a final decision on whether or not to retire, tweets Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star. Hasselbeck’s contract with the Colts is set to expire, so he’ll have to sign a new deal with Indianapolis or another team if he intends to continue his playing career.
- On the heels of a five-turnover performance by Brian Hoyer in the game that eliminated the Texans from the postseason, GM Rick Smith and head coach Bill O’Brien recognize that finding a “big-time quarterback like many of the other playoff teams” is the top priority for the franchise, says John McClain of the Houston Chronicle.
- Saints general manager Mickey Loomis has exerted greater control of the New Orleans Pelicans recently, but that’s only temporary, with Tom Benson‘s NBA team expected to bring in Joe Dumars to run the front office. Check out our sister site, Hoops Rumors, for the latest on Loomis’ involvement with the Pelicans.
Zach Links contributed to this post.