Tennessee claims Randy Moss off the waiver wire

The Tennessee Titans claimed wide receiver Randy Moss off the waiver wire Wednesday.

Tennessee passed on Moss in the 1998 NFL draft, choosing instead to take Kevin Dyson.

Moss can help a team that has not won a playoff game since January 2004, and receiver Kenny Britt hurt his right hamstring last week and will miss the Titans’ game against Miami on Nov. 14.

Moss, going to his third team this season, will be welcomed, at least initially. Safety Michael Griffin tweeted “welcome Randy Moss” and running back Chris Johnson had been lobbying for the Titans to pick up Moss as well.

Coach Jeff Fisher said in a statement that the receiver offered an opportunity to upgrade their offense.

“Randy has been a tremendous threat wherever he has been,” Fisher said. “We will bring him up to speed as quickly as possible.”

How quickly Moss joins the Titans remains to be seen. The Titans are on their bye week and hold their last practice Thursday before breaking for the weekend. Players won’t be due back until Tuesday, but agent Joel Segal said Moss will be heading to Tennessee.

“Randy’s excited to get back playing football,” Segal said. “He’s ready to go and looking forward to get there.”

Bills claim Merriman

The winless Buffalo Bills claimed Shawne Merriman off of waivers to improve their porous defense.

The move was made a day after Merriman was put on 24-hour waivers by San Diego.

Buffalo (0-7) had the first option on acquiring the once-feared pass rusher because it has the NFL’s worst record. Waived players are awarded to the worst team that submits a claim.

The move was made by first-year General Manager Buddy Nix, who is familiar with Merriman. Nix previously worked in the Chargers’ front office when they drafted the outside linebacker with the 12th pick in 2005. Merriman won the NFL defensive rookie of the year award in 2005.

It’s unclear when the 26-year-old Merriman will join the Bills, who play Chicago (4-3) at Toronto on Sunday.

“We think Shawne can help our defense,” Nix said. “He has been an impact player in a 3-4 defense, and we feel this is a good opportunity to make our team better.”

To make room on the roster, the Bills put offensive tackle Cornell Green on injured reserve. Green had started the first five games at right tackle before sustaining a knee injury.

Nicknamed “Lights Out,” Merriman at his peak was regarded as one of the NFL’s most feared players. He’s a three-time Pro Bowl selection. In 60 career games, he has 43 1/2 sacks — but only four in his last three seasons.

Childress said Moss trade was a poor decision

The Randy Moss experiment blew up in Brad Childress’ face, a spectacular football and public relations failure that has turned up the pressure on the Minnesota Vikings’ coach.

Childress spoke Wednesday, two days after deciding to cut Moss less than a month into his second stint in Minnesota. He declined to answer repeated questions about the specifics of the decision, including the motives behind it and whom he consulted before placing the receiver on waivers.

“It was a poor decision,” Childress said, referring to the Oct. 6 deal in which the Vikings sent a third-round draft choice to the Patriots for Moss. “I’ve got to stand up and I have to make it right. When it’s not right, you need to make it right.”

Vikings owner Zygi Wilf, who signed off on bringing Moss back to Minnesota and increasing the team payroll by about $5 million, has declined comment.

Steelers’ Harrison meets with Goodell

Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison called his meeting with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell “semi-productive,” saying he spoke his mind about the stricter enforcement of dangerous hits — a policy teammate Troy Polamalu criticized for causing paranoia around the league.

Harrison briefly threatened to retire after the NFL fined him $75,000 for his Oct. 17 helmet hit on Browns wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi.

Goodell requested the meeting with Harrison, held Tuesday at league headquarters in New York during the Steelers’ day off. Steelers director of football operations Kevin Colbert accompanied Harrison.

Anderson will start for Cardinals

Derek Anderson will be back at starting quarterback for Arizona when the Cardinals play the Vikings in Minnesota on Sunday.

Coach Ken Whisenhunt announced his decision before Cardinals practice Wednesday.

Anderson started the first four games, then was replaced by rookie Max Hall, who struggled mightily and was benched in the first half of last Sunday’s 38-35 loss to Tampa Bay after he had two interceptions returned for touchdowns.

Colts’ McAfee apologizes

Indianapolis punter Pat McAfee spent more than three minutes apologizing to Colts fans. In his first public comments since being arrested two weeks ago on suspicion of public intoxication, a contrite McAfee repeatedly called the episode embarrassing and promised it would not happen again.

“Obviously I made a dumb decision on a night when things got out of control,” he said. “I will never put my team or my family through this kind of embarrassment again.”

Etc.

Nnamdi Asomugha missed practice but Oakland Coach Tom Cable is hopeful the two-time Pro Bowl cornerback will be able to play in the Raiders’ critical AFC showdown with first-place Kansas City this week…. Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Sidney Rice has been taken off the physically unable to perform list, allowing him to return to practice. The Vikings have up to three weeks to evaluate his progress before determining whether to put him on the active 53-man roster. Also, wide receiver Percy Harvin was held out of practice because of a sprained left ankle and his status for this week’s game against Arizona is uncertain…. Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Ernie Sims has been fined $50,000 by the league for striking receiver Lavelle Hawkins in Philadelphia’s game with the Titans on Oct. 24…. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck did not practice for the Seattle Seahawks as he continues to recover from a concussion…. Atlanta Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson returned to practice for the first time since suffering a concussion and has been cleared to play this weekend…. The NFL fined Tennessee Titans safety Donnie Nickey $2,500 for coming in contact with referee Bill Leavy during Tennessee’s loss in San Diego…. Injured Cleveland Browns quarterbacks Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace have not been practicing, making it likely rookie quarterback Colt McCoy will make his third consecutive start Sunday against New England.