AFC Notes: Broncos, Raiders, Texans

Broncos

Now that he’s had his contract situation sorted out and has rejoined the team, Broncos CB Chris Harris is enthused about his fit as a defensive back in HC Vic Fangio‘s defensive scheme.

“It’s the perfect defense for a corner, especially for me,” Harris said on The Jim Rome Show. “I can blitz, I get to do everything that I’ve been doing and more. He has the right scheme to get his DBs lots of interceptions, like we’ve seen with the Bears. I think they had almost 30 interceptions last year as a defense. In this system, I definitely feel like everybody’s got a chance to get their interceptions up.”

Raiders

New Raiders teammates WR Antonio Brown and LB Vontaze Burfict have bad blood dating back to their time in the AFC North with the Steelers and Bengals respectively. Burfict infamously received a three-game suspension for a hit that knocked Brown out of a playoff game with a concussion, and the two have had other encounters that have resulted in fines for Burfict.

But now that they’re on the same team, one of Burfict’s former teammates thinks they’ll have no problem coexisting. 

“Yeah I think they will,” free-agent DT Domata Peko, who played five years with Burfict, said via TMZ. “I know Burfict personally, he’s a really good dude, but once you’re on that field, he’s a real competitor.  So now that they’re in the same uniform, they’re going to be like best friends.”

TMZ also asked Peko if he felt there were any concerns about the concussions Burfict has suffered during his playing career affecting his behavior. Peko said Burfict has been nothing but a good teammate in his experience. 

“He just plays hard as hell, that’s what I like about him,” Peko said. “I love kicking it with him before games and after games, he’s a really good dude.”

Texans

• Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer expects Texans LB Jadeveon Clowney to play out the 2019 season on the franchise tag in the absence of a real Texans general manager to negotiate an extension with. 
• Breer adds there’s a number of other candidates for extensions in Houston, including DT D.J. Reader, LB Whitney Mercilus, CB Johnathan Joseph and C Nick Martin, that could be stuck in limbo without a general manager.