AFC Notes: Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs

Broncos

Broncos RB Melvin Gordon said he’s not concerned over his competition at the position with second-round Javonte Williams and feels the media is bringing more attention to the matter. 

“I’m going to go out there, do my job and compete, and wherever the cards fall, they fall,” said, via Kyle Newman of the Denver Post. “I can’t worry about (the positional battle) too much, even I know that’s kind of the talk right now. The media is making it Javonte versus Mel, who’s going to start, this and that.”

Broncos HC Vic Fangio said Gordon appears in “good shape” despite skipping OTAs but plans to monitor his condition over the next five weeks. 

“We’ll see how he comes back (Wednesday) from the work he did today, and then obviously the next five weeks will be critical for him,” Fangio said.

Gordon told reporters that he still trains outside of team facilities regardless of missing voluntary OTAs. 

“Just because I haven’t been here (at the team facility) doesn’t mean I haven’t been working,” Gordon said. “I grind, and that’s what I do. I pride myself on that since I’ve been at Wisconsin, and I’m to going to continue to work hard as if I’m a free agent.”

Chargers

Former Saints QB Drew Brees issued a vote of confidence in Justin Herbert‘s “physical tools” and possesses “a lot of intangibles” to be successful in the NFL. 

“There’s no doubt, I think his physical tools are as good as anybody I’ve ever seen,” Brees said, via Fernando Ramirez of SI.com. “By all accounts, he’s a great worker. He’s got great leadership qualities, he’s got a lot of intangibles. So I think the sky is the limit for a guy like him.”

Breese thinks that Herbert will pair well with Chargers OC Joe Lombardi, who was the Saints QBs coach.

“I love the fact that he’s in this offense with Joe Lombardi. Lombardi comes from the New Orleans Saints, was my quarterbacks coach for almost all 15 years there. So I think he brings a ton of knowledge and experience — not only coaching quarterbacks but also within the system that we ran. And I think he’ll be able to tailor-make that for Justin’s skills, and obviously the tools and weapons that he has around him.”

• Herbert told reporters on Wednesday that he is fully vaccinated. (Gilbert Manzano)

Chiefs

• Chiefs S Tyrann Mathieu, who is entering the final year of his contract, said he’s not interested in playing for another team: “I can’t see me wearing any other uniform.” (Adam Teicher)
• Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes said he doesn’t have any issues with his toe and has been able to scramble in practice: “I don’t see any problems moving forward.” (Herbie Teope)
• Mahomes explained that he moved without limitations in OTAs and minicamp: “I had a good OTAs, a good minicamp. I was able to move around, scramble around and do the things that I needed to do.” (Ed Werder)