AFC Notes: Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs

Broncos

• Broncos HC Sean Payton said he “knew right away” that he wanted to interview Matt Patricia for DC and still wouldn’t rule him out from joining the staff. (Evan Lazar)
• Payton jokingly said the following about now Dolphins DC Vic Fangio: “Vic was part of the plan, and then you guys scared him away.” (Matt Lombardo)
• On the state of the current roster, Payton said: “I don’t know if it was a deep dive, with scuba tanks … but I’ve had a chance to look with George (Paton), talk about our players when we get back from the combine, we’ll have another meeting that will take two days.” (Jeff Legwold)
• Payton on the hiring of Vance Joseph as DC: “There were a few things that I felt Vance was going to bring. And not necessarily because he had experience in Denver but really more what he was able to do, believe it or not, in Arizona. That was a tough job for a number of years.” (Mike Klis)
• Broncos GM George Paton anticipates that DE Randy Gregory will be ready and healthy for the team’s offseason program. (Troy Renck)
• Paton added that RB Javonte Williams is “on track” to be ready for the start of the year and that the team has a plan if this ends up not being the case: “I think he’s on track (to be ready for the regular season), I don’t want to put a date on it, but he’s out there jogging, he’s working his butt off … (but) we’ll have another back or two if he’s not ready.” (Legwold)
• On Denver potentially re-signing LB Alex Singleton, Paton said: “He’s a baller. … We’d love to have Alex back.” (Mike Klis)
• Paton says he’ll make a decision on WR Jerry Jeudy’s fifth-year option near the draft, adding he’s “really happy” with Jeudy. (Andrew Callahan)
• Paton mentioned that conversations between the team and DL Dre’Mont Jones‘ agent have been positive thus far: “Dre’Mont is a very good player, he’s one of our core players on defense so (discussions) have been very positive.”  (Legwold)
• Mike Klis reports that the team is unlikely to use the franchise tag on Jones.
• Potential offseason upgrades noted by Paton include offensive line and running back. (Klis)

Chargers

• During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Chargers GM Tom Telesco said he is “not losing sleep” over the contract of their franchise QB Justin Herbert. (Lindsey Thiry)

Chiefs

• Chiefs HC Andy Reid says that wide receivers Skyy Moore and Kadarius Toney will have increased roles in the offense in 2023. (Matt Verderame)
• Reid says that David Girardi is the new QB coach and will be replacing recently promoted OC Matt Nagy. (Verderame)
• Chiefs GM Brett Veach said the franchise tag is an option for OT Orlando Brown but a long-term deal would be more beneficial for both parties. (Ben Baby)