AFC Notes: Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders

Broncos

Broncos GM George Paton wants LB Nik Bonitto to improve his strength heading into his rookie season so that he is better able to stand his ground as the No. 3 pass-rusher in Denver’s defense this season. 

“He has to get a little stronger. At Oklahoma, they are on the move a lot. They’re not really asked to set an edge. He has a great coach here, and great coaches that will help him with that,” Paton said, via BroncosWire.com.  “He needs to get stronger — and he knows that — but he has everything you need to be a good player in this league. Like all the rookies that come in, a lot of them are underdeveloped. He’s going to get in the weight room, he’s going to work, and he’s going to be able to set an edge and play the run.”

• Broncos HC Nathaniel Hackett said he spoke face-to-face with WR Jerry Jeudy about his arrest on Thursday: “We’re going to move forward from this and we’re going to learn from it as a team and that’s what it’s all about.” (Jeff Legwold)

Chiefs

Chiefs GM Brett Veach commented on what the contract talks with WR Mecole Hardman could possibly involve.

“It’s a good question,” Veach said, via Pro Football Talk. “I think one of the things that makes it more difficult is just where this receiver market went. On one hand, we can sit there and come up with something that makes sense for us and him. But on the other hand, when you come off of the free agency period with these numbers being so high and there’s also the mindset or thought process of the cap will only get bigger now…I think it’ll probably tend to go in the direction where the agents and the players want to wait and if last year’s any indication of where this thing’s going to go, at some point it’ll kind of flatline out, and things will become more balanced in regards to getting stuff done ahead of time. We’ll certainly have those types of conversations, but I think that if this offseason tipped its hand it’s more along the lines of the agent and the player just saying, ‘Well, might as well just wait.’ A lot of players benefitted from waiting and I think until that flatlines and settles down, I think there’ll be more of a desire for probably the agents more so to wait and play it out.”

Raiders

• According to documents obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the league briefly considered moving the Raiders to St. Louis in November 2014, when there was talk of the Raiders relocating “with restructured ownership, a brand makeover and a commitment to a ‘special diversity initiative.’” 
• New Raiders WR Keelan Cole signed a one-year, $1.2675 million deal that included a $150,000 signing bonus.  (Field Yates)