AFC Notes: Broncos, Jaguars, Raiders

Broncos

Broncos TE Jake Butt entered the NFL with two torn ACLs during his college career. The knee problems have continued to plague him, as Butt tore his ACL again in his second season and recurring issues caused him to be shelved again last year. Going into the final year of his rookie deal, Butt says he feels back to full strength. 

“My knee’s good,” Butt said via Ryan O’Halloran of the Denver Post. “Doing everything running and lifting. This offseason has been a little bit weird for everybody, having to bounce around and train anywhere you can, but I’ve still been getting good work in, feel good about things and excited about playing ball again.”

Jaguars

New Jaguars OC Jay Gruden had a lot of praise for second-year OT Jawaan Taylor and says he’s looking forward to working with him. 

“One hundred percent, yes,” Gruden said, via Jaguarswire.com. “He’s long, he’s athletic and he plays with the tenacity that you love from a tackle. I am very excited to get to work with him at right tackle. He can run, he can pull, he can get out there on screens, he’s physical in the running game and he can pass protect, he’s got great feet. He’s got every quality that you want in an offensive tackle and the more experience he gets and handing some of the movement up front, the better he’s going to be.”

Raiders

Per the Athletic’s Vic Tafur, Raiders DE Clelin Ferrell has bulked up 13 pounds to 275 pounds. His trainer, Mark Hall, said Ferrell is looking to improve and potentially play more inside after recording just 4.5 sacks as a rookie:

“He’s lean and mean and running pretty good,” Hall said. “We had a really good offseason and I know he can’t wait to get to Las Vegas and put that product on the field.”

Ferrell was somewhat of a surprise selection by the Raiders last year, going No. 4 overall when most projected him to be taken in the teens. It didn’t help the perception that Ferrell had a typical rookie year while the Raiders’ fourth-round pick, DE Maxx Crosby, led the team with 10 sacks. But going into his second season, Ferrell is working to be bigger, faster, stronger and smarter. 

“Last year was more of an introduction to Cle,” said Hall. “Then last season, I noticed some deficiencies in Cle’s game and the Raiders played him inside some, too. So he needed to put on some more pounds, especially in his lower body, and we polished up his pass-rush game. We also wanted to give him a better understanding of what offensive linemen are presenting to him, and how to finish against them. Clean his game up … speed, agility, movement.”