AFC Notes: Broncos, Raiders, Texans

Broncos

New Broncos S Su’a Cravens said Monday during his introductory press conference that he’s happy to have a “fresh start’ in Denver.

“I felt like it was perfect,” Cravens said, via the Denver Post. “… I wanted a fresh start because I didn’t like the way things happened. It wasn’t part of my plan. I never thought that at 22 years old I’d be at the house watching football instead of playing football. The fact the Broncos gave me this fresh start, this chance to basically create a new image of myself, I just can’t wait.

Cravens explained that it took around five or six meetings with concussion specialist Micky Colline before he got the green light to return to playing football.

A continuous process just flying to Micky Collins in Pittsburgh and going through the concussion testing, going through multiple different tests on computers physically, going to optometrists and things like that until he felt that, in his best medical opinion, I was ready to play,” Cravens said. “I went about five or six times throughout a four- or five-month period where I spent basically a full 24 hours at the office working with him before he felt comfortable giving me the green light.

“There was a point that I thought I was done with football, but that love for it and that need to compete, that need to be on the field and be with your brothers, that never went away.”

Raiders

Raiders HC Jon Gruden said recently that they expect WR Amari Cooper to be the “main vein of our passing offense” and they really excited about what he can do for them moving forward.

“He has to get healthy and stay healthy,” Gruden said, via NBC Bay Area. “We need him to be the player he was the first two years. I’ve said it earlier. We’re going to make him the main vein of our passing offense and move him around a lot. . . . We are really excited about him. I think he’s entering the prime of his career.

Gruden, who previously coached Tim Brown, sees similarities between Cooper and the Hall of Fame receiver.

“I said it when he came out of Alabama, that he reminded me of a young Tim Brown,” Gruden said. “He has that type of game speed. He’s elusive, and has a wide range of routes he can run. He’s flexible. It’ll benefit him to stay healthy and stay in the same system for a few years. If he does that, great things are ahead.”

Texans

Texans HC Bill O’Brien is confident that QB Deshaun Watson‘s instincts will keep him healthy moving forward as he returns from an ACL tear.

He has a really good instinct for maybe gaining the 5 or 6 yards and then going down before he takes the shot,” O’Brien said, via ESPN.com. “That’s a big thing that young quarterbacks usually have a problem with. He seems to have an instinct for being able to stay out of harm’s way.”

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