The NFL will have tripleheaders on the Saturday and Sunday of Wildcard weekend with the playoffs expanding to 14 teams.

League owners voted to approve the expansion on Tuesday.

NBC and CBS will televised the additional playoff games.

The NFL remains determined to play a 16-game season in 2020 despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and has yet to discuss any contingency plans with teams.

The NFL could delay the start of the season and play out a 16-game season from there, which could extend into the spring. 

There have been no plans yet of playing a shorter season.

The Cincinnati Bengals have released Dre Kirkpatrick.

Kirkpatrick was a first round pick in 2012 out of Alabama. Kirkpatrick started six games at cornerback in 2019 before suffering a season-ending knee injury on Nov. 10.

"Dre was a part of the Bengals' organization for many years, and displayed passion, energy and competitiveness both on and off the field," Bengals coach Zac Taylor said in a statement. "We appreciate his many contributions to our team and community over the years, and wish him the best moving forward."

Tua Tagovailoa has made enough strides in his recovery that his representation is confident enough to pronounce him fully cleared.

"Tua is fully cleared and ready to compete without any restrictions," Chris Cabott said.

The former Alabama quarterback passed the fourth medical checkup on his surgically repaired hip earlier this month.

Tua's doctor, Dr. Lyle Cain, said the quarterback's recovery nearly five months after surgery is significant.

"I am extremely pleased," Cain said. "If you told me four, almost five, months ago now that he'd be where he is now, I think I would have been very happy. I think he's done extremely well for where he started out."

NFL Players Association medical director Thom Mayer is optimistic the 2020 season will take place.

However, the union and the NFL will know a lot more in late May or early June about whether playing this season is viable.

Mayer discussed the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the NFL during an appearance on Adam Schefter's podcast.

The NFLPA has created a COVID-19 brain trust that includes members from Harvard, Duke, Johns Hopkins, the CDC, the White House, the state department and the office of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

"So OTAs, probably not going to happen. As you know, the clubs are closed for now and will remain closed for a while. But I'm very optimistic," Mayer said. "You know, you look at somebody like Drew Brees and [wife] Brittany Brees gave five million dollars to New Orleans. And you may have heard Drew the other day say, 'Hang in there, hang tough.' And that's what we have to do. We have to hang in there and hang tough -- but we have to scenario plan for disasters in terms of the way we did it at 9/11."

The Houston Texans have opened up extension talks with left tackle Laremy Tunsil, according to sources.

The two sides have exchanged preliminary proposals.

Houston acquired Tunsil last year for a package of draft picks. He is expected to become the highest-paid left tackle in the NFL.

Lane Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles has the largest contract for a left tackle at $18 million per year.

Jason Licht revealed that Tom Brady actually sold the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on his fit with the team rather than the other way around.

"We had a great conversation -- Bruce (Arians) and I -- we talked to him for over an hour and a half. And he made it clear in the conversation that he was very, very interested," Licht said. "It was almost like a recruitment on his part, telling us why it would make sense for him to come to Tampa Bay. The next call we made, we signed him, but it was at that phone call that we realized, that we felt like we had him."

The Buccaneers went into the offseason targeting Brady believing he has plenty of good football left.

"The tape showed to us that he had plenty of arm. In fact, we thought that he had an ideal arm for Bruce in his system," Licht said, referring to Arians' affinity for taking shots downfield. "He can still throw it deep. We felt like the mobility was still the same as he's always had, which, he's never been able to outrun anybody. But he certainly is good in the pocket in terms of eluding pressure and with his poise and his instincts. We did not see a decline in his arm talent whatsoever. And, in fact, we feel like he could still play for over two years for us, and hopefully that's the case."

If the NFL has to truncate its 2020 season due to COVID-19, they will likely want to ensure all division games are played. The NFL would likely want to ensure teams play an equal number of home and away games.

The NFL accounted for the possibility of a shortened season in 2011 during the lockout with many teams not playing any divisional games until later in the season.

The NFL will also likely wait until May to release its schedule instead of mid-April before the draft.

Roger Goodell may conduct the 2020 NFL Draft via a remote-controlled camera from his home in Bronxville, New York.

A source told Peter King that would be a "worst-case scenario."

The NFL continues to insist on moving forward with the draft as scheduled April 23-25, albeit remotely instead of in Las Vegas.

During an Instagram Live conversation over the weekend, Marvin Jones set a lofty goal for the 2020 season.

"I want to lead the league in -- I want over 15 touchdowns," The Detroit Lions receiver said. "Forget 10, I've had 10 already. I want (15). I want 1,400 (yards). Just stuff like that that drives me and every time I step on that line -- I'm going on Year 9 -- but every time I step on that line, it just fuels me to be great."

Jones missed three games last season, but still posted 779 yards and nine touchdowns.