Minnesota Vikings WR Adam Thielen (back) is expected to play in the NFC Championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday, Jan. 21, despite being in plenty of pain due to a lower back ailment, according to multiple sources.

New England Patriots QB Tom Brady (thumb) will ‘probably’ wear a glove on his throwing hand to protect his stitches against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Championship game, according to a source.

Penn State WR DaeSean Hamilton was added to the Senior Bowl roster.

Washington Redskins LB Zach Brown will be a free agent this offseason, and he will likely have to to lower his asking price in order to return to Washington in 2018.

Washington Redskins CB Kendall Fuller could move to the outside in 2018 with CB Joshua Holsey replacing him as the slot corner.

New England Patriots QB Tom Brady (hand) will start the AFC Championship game Sunday, Jan. 21, against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Houston Texans assistant head coach Romeo Crennel is expected to take over as the team’s defensive coordinator, according to a source.

Footballguys View: With Mike Vrabel moving on to be the head coach of the Titans, the Texans need to find someone to run their defense. Crennel held the position with the Texans until he was promoted to assistant head coach last year. The Texans are coaching the Senior Bowl next week, so moving Crennel over makes sense.

Houston Texans quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan interviewed for the Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator position but probably would not be allowed to call plays if he is hired because of his lack of experience. Ryan has indicated that he wants to call plays if he is the offensive coordinator.

Footballguys View: If Ryan was hired, then head coach Hue Jackson would call plays. If Ryan wants to call plays and Cleveland doesn’t want him to do that, it doesn’t sound like a great fit for either side. The Browns hired former Bengals OC Ken Zampese to coach the quarterbacks in 2018.

The Tennessee Titans have hired Houston Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel as their new head coach.

Footballguys View: Things change quickly around here. A week ago, the Titans were losing to the Patriots in the Divisional Round in the playoffs. After that game, there was buzz that Mike Mularkey was going to get an extension as their head coach. Shortly thereafter, Mularkey and the team parted ways. They may have wanted to get Patriots OC Josh McDaniels a week ago, but he seems destined to be the head coach of the Colts when New England is done in the postseason. Vrabel spent one year (2017) as the Texans defensive coordinator. The long-time NFL linebacker has a defensive mind and needs to find the best offensive minds he can to put around young quarterback Marcus Mariota.

Tennessee Titans TE Jonnu Smith (knee) is expected to be ready for the start of offseason workouts.