AFC Notes: Chargers, Chiefs, Raiders

Chargers

The Chargers signed CB Michael Davis to a three-year, $25.2 million deal this offseason to basically be their No. 1 cornerback. So far, Davis hasn’t quite lived up to that billing. He recorded his first interception of the season in Week 13 against the Bengals, but it came on a drop from WR Ja’Marr Chase that probably should have been a touchdown. 

“We are working with this guy,” Chargers HC Brandon Staley said via the Athletic’s Daniel Popper. “(He) is working hard and he is still at the beginning of this NFL thing. I know you guys may not like me saying that, but that is the truth of him learning how to play NFL corner. There is a huge set of experiences that he is yet to tap into as an NFL corner. I’m talking a real NFL corner. He’s working hard at it, he’s competing and I really like the way he has responded. We are going to stay with the guy.”

• The Athletic’s Jeff Howe notes Chargers WR Mike Williams will be a hot name if he makes it to free agency, but his streakiness this season raises questions. Los Angeles also already has WR Keenan Allen on a deal for more than $20 million a season, so it has to be cognizant of that. 
• The Chargers are No. 2 in projected 2022 cap space, though, with more than $70 million, so Howe points out they do have the flexibility to give Williams a major deal. 
• Ian Rapoport reports that both WR Mike Williams and CB Chris Harris are on track to play Sunday despite their status as COVID-19 close contacts.

Chiefs

• The Kansas City Chiefs announced that star CB L’Jarius Sneed is now questionable for Sunday’s game after his oldest brother was stabbed and killed in his hometown of Minden, Louisiana.

Raiders

Raiders QB Derek Carr said he’s spent more time with Hunter Renfrow than any receiver he’s ever played alongside and feels they have a high level of communication. 

“I think Hunter and I have spent more time together than any receiver I’ve ever had on the field and off the field,” Carr said, via ProFootballTalk. “Just the level of communication that we have, it’s very high-level. It’s one thing for me to go to him, or to a receiver, and be like, ‘Hey, I need you to do it just like this.’ And it’s another thing for him to say okay and actually see it the same way on the field and do it. And he does it exactly how I need him to do it. And so, the trust is super high and the execution. It’s one thing to do it, but I’m throwing it and he’s making great plays.”

Carr believes Renfrow is the NFL’s best receiver when running after the catch. 

“I think he’s the best after the catch in the NFL, if not one of the best. I think the first guy always misses and he’s super hard to tackle, so you always want to get the ball in his hands. And to see him emerging as that guy, it doesn’t surprise me at all.”

• Raiders’ LB Denzel Perryman (ankle) has been ruled out for Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. (Vincent Bonsignore)