AFC Notes: Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders

Broncos

New Broncos QB Russell Wilson is hands down the best quarterback WR Courtland Sutton has ever played with in his career. And Wilson also has high praise for Sutton. 

“Courtland’s been exceptional,” Wilson said via USA Today’s Parker Gabriel. “He’s got an amazing skill set in terms of his ability to catch the football down the field, but he is extremely, extremely bright. I’m not sure if you’ve ever seen him throw a football, but he could play quarterback if he wanted to. He’s that smart. He takes all the information, he understands what the defense is doing. He’s one of the best receivers I’ve seen in terms of understanding the game and what’s going on.”

The early indications from camp are that the two are forming what could be one of the league’s most dynamic connections. Sutton is a big-bodied receiver similar to Wilson’s former top target, Seahawks WR D.K. Metcalf, and he and Wilson are working to develop that same level of mutual trust. 

“Originally we talk about how people are open in different ways,” Broncos HC Nathaniel Hackett said. “I think now Russ is starting to realize that (Sutton) might be open in even more ways than you might think. He’s such a huge man that can run, works hard, attacks the ball. He’s started to take some shots even when there’s not that much separation. He’s continuing to test those waters and that’s what you’re seeing there.”

Chiefs

• According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the Chiefs gave WR JuJu Smith-Schuster a raise from $30,000 to $60,000 in per-game roster bonuses. 
• Chiefs WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling and first-round CB Trent McDuffie are both in the concussion protocol. (Matt Derrick)
• Chiefs TE Matt Bushman, who caught two touchdowns in the preseason finale, has a fractured clavicle. 

Raiders

• Sports Business Journal’s Liz Mullen reports Raiders TE Darren Waller has switched agents, leaving Klutch Sports. He’s in the NFLPA-mandated five day waiting period before hiring a new rep. 
• Waller and the team have been having extension talks this summer, with the veteran tight end currently underpaid relative to the rest of the market but with two years still on his deal. 
• PFN’s Mike Kaye talked to a league source to gauge what Raiders OL Alex Leatherwood‘s trade value would be. The source said a fifth-round pick, with the potential for a fourth if the other team really loved Leatherwood as a prospect last year. 
• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler says several teams he’s spoken to believe Leatherwood will be available during roster cuts, either via trade or release.