Buccaneers defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth says he is returning to Tennessee with no ill will toward the Titans. He has played with three teams since leaving the franchise that drafted him. The defensive tackle said Wednesday players need to be careful going into free agency thinking the grass is greener with another team. Haynesworth suggests trying to work something out with the team they start with before leaving. Haynesworth left the Titans and signed a $100 million contract with the Redskins a few seasons ago.

Matt Hasselbeck left the Titans' loss to the Falcons on Sunday afternoon with a sprained left elbow. Tennessee rookie Jake Locker took over and nearly led an improbable comeback, throwing for 140 yards and two touchdowns after taking over late in the third quarter. Following the 23-17 loss, coach Mike Munchak didn't waste time throwing support behind Hasselbeck. "If Matt is fine, he's the quarterback," Munchak said. "There's no doubt about that."

Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck believes the AFC South division title is up for grabs at this point. The Colts have struggled without Peyton Manning, the Jaguars have a rookie quarterback and now the Texans are turning to Matt Leinart with Matt Schaub sidelined. Houston still leads the division at 7-3, but Tennessee isn't to far behind at 5-4. "It's up for grabs," Hasselbeck told "The Jim Rome Show" on Friday. "It really is up for grabs. Houston is clearly out in front, they're clearly the leader, but this season there's a lot more football to be played and we're excited at least about the opportunity to still be in it."

Titans defensive end Dave Ball says he briefly considered retirement after his latest concussion two weeks ago against Cincinnati. Ball returned to practice Friday, but won't play against the Falcons on Sunday because of his third concussion the past two seasons. His season ended after 11 games last year due to a concussion. "I thought of that," he said of retiring. "But I'm not at that point yet. It would take a couple of more hard knocks before they can knock D. Ball out of there, right?" Ball said he is improving, and both he and the Titans expect he should be on track to play Nov. 27 against Tampa Bay.

The Titans could get out of Chris Johnson's deal after this season having paid the struggling running back just $13 million. After a long and at times grating holdout, the contract is structured in a way that could allow the Titans let Johnson go prior to the 2012 season. Following a 34-day holdout, Johnson signed a four-year, $53.5 million contract that temporarily made him the highest-paid running back in the NFL. Johnson earned the deal after leading the NFL in rushing the past three seasons and becoming the sixth back in league history to eclipse 2,000 yards in a single season. Johnson has just 302 rushing yards through seven games this season and is averaging only 2.8 yards per carry. Johnson has one touchdown on the season and recently admitted his poor start has made him more frustrated than he's ever been in his career.

Chris Johnson feels that he's due for a rebound after he has struggled over the first half of the regular season. "Basically this is a situation where it can get no worse really, so it can't do nothing but go up," Johnson said. "I'm always eager to get back on the field and practice after a bad game and make it better." Johnson has 302 yards on 107 carries, good for 34th in the league. Those are extremely disappointing numbers for a running back who signed a a $53.5 million contract extension with $30 million guaranteed after an extended preseason holdout.

Titans coach Mike Munchak insists that Chris Johnson will remain the team's starting running back despite his struggles this season. "He's handling the situation where expectations are so high, I don't know how he could ... unless we're running for 200 yards a game," Munchak said. "There's going to be people questioning what he's doing just because he's paid how he is and he's perceived to be one of the top backs in the league, so people expect an awful lot from him every time he steps on the field. When you come short of that and as a team we struggle, everyone's trying to figure out what's wrong. Something must be wrong." Since sitting out the preseason before signing a six-year, $53.5 million contract extension with $30 million guaranteed, Johnson has topped 100 yards only once. He has been held to 34 yards or fewer four times this season. Munchak said there's no plan to even out the carries between Johnson and backup Javon Ringer, although the latter will play. "There's no rhyme or reason to it right now. If there was, I'd let you know," Munchak said. "We're just trying to get something fixed that hasn't been as productive as we'd like, and we're not doing anything different ... We don't feel any different about Chris Johnson. All of the above. Nothing's changing. Our philosophy hasn't changed."