AFC Notes: Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs, Raiders

Chargers

• Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reveals the Chargers opened and closed negotiations with DE Joey Bosa on July 28 in time for him to report to camp. 
• Los Angeles forked $78 million guaranteed at signing, but Breer says the team was comfortable doing that because of Bosa’s production so far and his work ethic which is among the best on the team. 
• Chargers rookie RB Joshua Kelley said of fellow rookie QB Justin Herbert: “I’m fired up about this guy. I think everybody is.” Kelley also specifically mentioned Herbert’s leadership. (Daniel Popper)
• Kelley said that despite the virtual offseason program, his transition to in-person walkthroughs has been seamless: “Luckily for me, I’ve worked out with Austin [Ekeler] and Justin Jackson so I’ve been able to get these reps with those guys, so for me, that was almost stealing some reps this offseason where a lot of guys didn’t have that.” (Lindsey Thiry)

Chiefs

Chiefs TE Travis Kelce spoke about the downside of losing several of his teammates such as G Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and RB Damien Williams who will opt-out this season.

“It hurts, man,” Kelce said, via Nate Taylor of The Athletic. “It hurts, but at the same time, you can obviously respect both of their decisions. Love those guys. I totally respect what they’re doing. The guys that we have in this locker room can fill that void. I truly believe that. We have an unbelievable roster, and I’m pretty excited to see how this group molds together.”

Without Williams, rookie RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire will be the top running back and LB Anthony Hitchens said the Chiefs’ defense is responsible for preparing him for his NFL debut.

“As a defense, show him different looks, practice hard, try to strip the ball out and have tight coverage on him,” Hitchens said Thursday. “I think we have a lot of veterans that are going to do that. You can get ready for Week 1 by practicing, especially at this tempo and speed that Coach Reid presents to us. I’m more than confident he’ll be ready by Week 1.”

Chiefs RT Mitchell Schwartz talked with the media about replacing Duvernay-Tardif with veteran guards Kelechi Osemele, Mike Remmers and Martinas Rankin.

“You don’t necessarily get the feel for things until you’re in pads,” Schwartz said. “The older guys are, and the more they play, I think the easier it is to kind of mesh them together. Kelechi has had an awesome career. Remmers has had a really good career, too. Those are guys who understand fits and understand how to play together next to people. Rankin played great last year, so I’m really excited to see him keep progressing.”

Raiders

• Per the Athletic’s Vic Tafur, Raiders GM Mike Mayock said they had seen enough of former second-round DT P.J. Hall, who was initially waived Monday before being traded to the Vikings: “Every player has a time frame. P.J. was a second-round pick with a lot of talent. (There wasn’t) a level of consistency. We demand that of everyone.”
• Raiders traded DT P.J. Hall to the Vikings for a conditional seventh-round pick. (NFLTR)
• Raiders signed RB Jeremy Hill. (NFLTR)
• Raiders waived DB Jordan Brown, TE Paul Butler, K Dominik Eberle, LB Marquel Lee, C Erik Magnuson, LS Liam McCullough and WR Anthony Ratliff-Williams. (NFLTR)