The Tennessee Titans could be in the market for a quarterback this offseason. They aren’t necessarily going to be in the market for a long-term franchise quarterback, but a bridge quarterback could be of interest as well.

After drafting Will Levis in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, he has been unable to prove that he can be a franchise caliber quarterback. Despite the calls to replace him, the Titans might opt to spend their first-round pick on a different position.

If the team wants to make a move to try and improve for the 2025 season at quarterback, they could opt to pursue a veteran signal caller that can start for a year or two as they look for another alternative.

One name to keep an eye on could be New York Jets’ quarterback and future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers.

Sports Illustrated recently took a look at five potential destinations for Rodgers if the Jets choose to move on. Tennessee was one of the teams listed as a possible suitor.

They talked briefly about Levis and his future, but then mentioned that if he’s unable to prove himself down the stretch of the season, a veteran quarterback like Rodgers could be of interest.

“If he doesn’t do enough to convince the Titans he’s their quarterback of the future, it may be time for the team to explore some veteran options in free agency, where a bridge deal with a QB like Rodgers would certainly be of interest,” SI writes.

Rodgers is in the middle of what has been a nightmare season with New York. The Jets have fired head coach Robert Saleh and now have fired general manager Joe Douglas.

While the team as a whole has struggled, Rodgers has not played his best football either. However, he also hasn’t been horrible.

On the season in 11 games, Rodgers has completed 63.4 percent of his pass attempts for 2,442 yards, 17 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.

Those numbers are not on par with what fans have come to know and expect, but the team has been completely separated from each other. No one looks to be on the same page.

A change of scenery could be all that Rodgers needs to get back on track.

It may not be likely that the Titans would go out and sign Rodgers. But, they’re listed as a potential suitor and could end up being a team to watch if they’re interested in a short-term pickup to try and compete.

Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

North Texas is known for its generally mild winters, but the area has nonetheless experienced some exceptionally frigid days.

These cold spells can include challenges such as icy roads and heightened energy demands, and some terrible accidents that have included fatalities.

According to the National Weather Service, here are the five coldest days in North Texas.

1. Feb. 12, 1899: minus 8 degrees

A severe arctic blast affected much of the country during the first half of February in 1899. Temperatures fell below zero in every state. A century later, records from that coldest day remain unchallenged.

Between Feb. 4-13, only eight hours with temperatures at or above freezing were reported, according to the National Weather Service’s office in Fort Worth.

With winds blowing at over 30 mph, the thermometer marked a low of minus 8 degrees the morning of Feb. 12.

Dallas went down to minus 10 degrees and Grapevine fell to minus 12 degrees.

2. Feb. 16 2021: minus 2 degrees

A historic winter storm and arctic outbreak hit North Texas. It affected most of the state and many parts of the country. Records were broken across Texas, and winter storm warnings were issued across the entire state.

A freezing drizzle created a thin coating of ice on many roadways that led to numerous cars sliding off the road, including a pileup of over 100 vehicles that resulted in several fatalities on Interstate 35W in Fort Worth.

According to the weather service, 5 inches of snow was reported at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. The area spent 93 consecutive hours at or below freezing, from 5 p.m. Feb. 9 to 2 p.m. Feb 13.

3. Dec. 23, 1989: minus 1 degree

A cold wave brought several surges of arctic air into the central and eastern United States, beginning in mid-December and lasting until Christmas.

The city of Dallas suffered $25 million in damage caused by broken pipes, along with losses at manufacturing plants. Other areas in the southeast U.S. had similar damage from frozen pipes.

The cold wave brought snow to some areas of Florida, giving many parts of the state their first White Christmas on record.

4. Jan. 12, 1912: 1 degree

North Texas was gripped by two cold waves, one on Jan. 6 and the other on Jan. 12.

Temperatures plummeted across the state with each cold wave, leaving little time for preparation. Unprotected vegetation died, and the weather was linked to widespread agricultural losses.

According to The Dallas Morning News archives, local temperature dropped at 11 a.m. from 55 degrees to 24 degrees in the afternoon. By 7 p.m., temperature had dropped to 14 degrees. After 7 p.m., when the cold wave really hit North Texas, pushing the temperature to just 1 degree.

5. Feb. 8, 1933: 2 degrees

According to The News archives, a winter blast hit North Texas and part of Oklahoma, dropping temperatures to 7 degrees by 6 p.m. Heavy snow blanketed the city. Snow continued through the night for several hours.

At 11:30 p.m., the thermometer at Dallas Love Field dropped to 4 degrees, before dipping overnight to 2 degrees.

Two Texans died as a result of the winter storm, which was blamed for heavy damage to fruit, and other crops.

An 18-year-old boy and a 62-year-old doctor died during the cold wave, and according to the coroners office, their deaths were caused by exposure.

Washington’s Pakistani food scene remains one of its most under-sung strong suits, and it’s only getting stronger. Ambitious Pakistani eateries are blossoming in the Northern Virginia suburbs—and plotting expansions across the District and Maryland.

With them, they’re bringing fried puris ballooned up beside buttery chickpeas and cardamom-scented semolina halwa; sizzling chicken and lamb in wok-like karahis topped with slivers of ginger; and chargrilled chapli kebab patties studded with whole coriander and chilies.

This new class of Pakistani eateries, clustered in Fairfax and Loudoun counties, serves uncompromising food in polished, contemporary spaces.

“Just selling halal food isn’t the benchmark anymore,” says Suhail Kamran, who owns Cha Street Food, in Tysons and Sterling. “It has to taste amazing, and your space and customer service needs to be complementing it as well.” Here are four favorite new-wave Pakistani spots.

Chaska

The second-story open-air terrace has such a commanding view of Dulles Airport that you can make out the logo of each landing plane while you eat. At first, it didn’t occur to owner Waqas Shah, who also runs a pizza shop downstairs, to open a separate restaurant in the space. But Shah—who was born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, but grew up in Loudoun County—had been dreaming about opening a serious Pakistani grill.

“We’ve been eating this food since I was little,” Shah says. “Basically, we wanted to offer that to the community, to bring back memories for the folks that are here.”

Although Chaska’s menu incorporates dishes like karahi and even burgers, kebabs are the thing to get. The bright-orange marinade of the chicken tikka permeates the meat, and Shah’s grill cooks also work magic with ground beef, in the form of tubular seekh kebabs and burger-shaped chapli kebabs. The mixed grill offers a chance to try them all, supplemented with fragrant long-grain rice and slow-cooked chickpeas.

Chaska’s lofty location presents challenges—delivery drivers often give up on finding it, and diners have to climb a long flight of stairs—but Shah and his five brothers have worked to make it as welcoming as possible. Inspired by Pakistani truckers’ tradition of decorating their rigs with psychedelic colors and quotations, they emblazoned each step on the staircase with sayings in Urdu. “It’s hard to go to a restaurant where you have to go up the stairs,” Shah says, “so we try to engage people while they’re coming up.”

Namak Mandi

Veteran nightclub owner and restaurateur Sami Khan’s previous projects all have their charms, but most are undistinguished—a lounge in DC and a few Mediterranean and Mexican spots around Virginia. It’s when he chose to focus on something closer to his native home that he created one of the region’s best South Asian restaurants. Namak Mandi, which opened in 2020 on a busy stretch of Leesburg Pike, is named after the historic salt-market district of Peshawar, a crossroads of Afghan and Pakistani cuisines. “People go from all over the country to eat there,” Khan says. “Their karahi is the most special thing.”

Fittingly, karahi—a thick, tomato-based curry—is also the most special thing at Khan’s restaurant. It hits the table sizzling-hot, a fiery chicken stew reduced down to a concentrate at the bottom of the steel karahi pan, which also functions as its serving dish. As important as the karahi, though, is the bread that accompanies it. The oblong naans, fresh from the tandoor, arrive speared on hooks atop wooden pedestals that Khan has fashioned himself, inspired by Peshawari restaurants he’s visited in the UK.

This summer, Khan opened a second location, in downtown DC (1030 15th St., NW). At the Falls Church original, which is decked out with sofa-like seating upholstered with Pashtun tribal patterns, Khan says his clientele is still 80 percent Pakistani. At its newer sibling—which serves an Indian-accented weekday buffet along with Peshawari specialties in a more modern space—Khan is hoping to introduce his food to a new audience.

Cha Street Food

This mini chain has already transformed from a food truck to a storefront in Tysons Corner mall boasting a friendly indoor-outdoor space strung with lights and colorful hanging lamps. Next, owner Suhail Kamran wants to expand his “pandemic idea” into DC and Maryland and eventually up the East Coast.

Kamran says he and his family missed the tea houses of Pakistan—here there’s no obvious American equivalent—and initially called the business Cha Tea House.

“The Indians and the Pakistanis got it, but everyone else thought we’d just have a bunch of tea,” he says. “In Pakistan and India, a tea house has a lot more than just tea.” Cha Street Food certainly does. Its menu hops back and forth between the continents, from paratha rolls to masala-spiced fried-chicken sandwiches.

Kamran, a second-generation Pakistani American with kids born here, wanted to incorporate traditional flavors into familiar American formats. He makes Kashmiri pink chai into a milkshake, loads French fries with spiced keema (minced meat), and flips chapli kebabs and masala potato patties onto hamburger buns. Falooda ice cream is another crowd-pleasing treat. “For our kids,” Kamran says, “I had to make it easy for them to understand.”

That’s not to say the food doesn’t draw heavily on tradition. Before opening Cha Street Food, a few of Kamran’s business partners flew to Karachi with one purpose: to learn the art of paratha rolls from a street vendor. “I don’t know what got into them, to be honest,” Kamran jokes. Clearly, their trip was fruitful: The parathas—wrapped around kebabs, crispy paneer, or grilled chicken—are supple and pleasantly flaky.

Desi Breakfast Club

Even if you’ve never tried halwa puri before, it might become a breakfast craving that never leaves you. For one thing, with this typical Pakistani morning meal, you don’t have to choose between sweet and savory. Use a crispy, air-filled puri, puffed up in the fryer, to scoop alternating bites of halwa (warm, sweet semolina pudding) and masala chickpeas. If you eat meat, opt for a third add-on: chicken keema with green peas.

“If you go to Lahore on Saturdays and Sundays in the morning, halwa puri is on everyone’s mind,” says Malik Ahmad, who opened this all-day-breakfast restaurant in 2021.

While Ahmad was in high school, his parents opened Charcoal Chicken, an exemplary kebab shop that still operates in nearby Chantilly. His love for their cooking traditions, and his American childhood, inspired him to open Desi Breakfast Club, which he thinks of as a kind of diner.

“Diners are everywhere,” Ahmad says. “They’re the backbone of America.”

Ahmad’s place has a sizable menu. Nihari, one of the world’s heartiest breakfasts, is great here—a slow-cooked, gingery beef stew with a slick of orange ghee floating on top. Chai is hot, cheap, and nicely spiced. French toasts, bagels, and omelets are available. But the halwa puri is the destination-worthy plate.

Now Ahmad manages both his parents’ restaurant and Desi Breakfast Club. He’s a testament to the changing nature of Northern Virginia’s Pakistani dining scene. “Charcoal Chicken was a hole in the wall,” he says. “My parents didn’t do any marketing, it was just word of mouth and their hard work.”

But Ahmad, like the proprietors of Chaska and Cha Street Food, is part of a new wave of Pakistani restaurants harnessing social media, coming up with fun fusion dishes, and creating cool design elements to attract new customers. “It’s all these second-generation kids,” he says.

This article appears in the November 2024 issue of Washingtonian.