AFC Notes: Chargers, Colts, Raiders

Chargers

• Jeff Miller of the Los Angeles says his semi-educated guess is the Chargers would be interested in free-agent QB Colin Kaepernick if veteran QB Tyrod Taylor were to be injured. The same would also be true of QB Cam Newton.
• Chargers HC Anthony Lynn revealed the team would have Kaepernick on its workout list if something were to happen and they needed to sign a quarterback. (NFLTR)
• Lynn confirmed there isn’t anything currently set up with Kaepernick. He added the Chargers were not the team that contacted the Seahawks about their workout with Kaepernick. (Omar Ruiz)

Colts

Entering his second season in 2019, former Colts fifth-round WR Daurice Fountain was one of the stars of training camp. Fountain seemed poised to step into a bigger role for Indianapolis before suffering a severe injury, fracturing and dislocating his ankle. It would have been easy for Fountain to lose hope after seeing all his hard work seemingly evaporate, but Colts WR coach and passing game specialist Kevin Patullo said he made sure to talk with Fountain about ways he could keep up his positive momentum for his third year. 

“You go to the next step and say, ‘Okay, it’s a step back, but what did we learn from this? And look where you are at. So let’s continue to try and grow from here and work on your confidence and work on things that you are able to. You maybe not be playing but you can still work on stuff while you’re not playing,’” Patullo said via 1075TheFan.com’s Kevin Bowen. “It’s hard to say that right away, but as time goes, you can realize that you can get better as you go.”

Raiders

In a wide-open Raiders secondary last year, 2019 fourth-round CB Isaiah Johnson missed a chance to make an early name for himself when he broke his face — literally — in the fourth preseason game. Johnson spent the first half of the season on injured reserve and played sparingly when he came back in part due to a bulging disc that was giving him issues. Heading into 2020, though, Johnson said he’s healthy and ready to prove himself. 

“A lot of people didn’t know what to expect from me and they still don’t know what to expect from me,” Johnson said via the Athletic’s Tashan Reed. “And I like that. The biggest thing that they need to understand is that, yes, you had an Isaiah Johnson from last year, but that Isaiah Johnson was having back problems that nobody really knew about. I wouldn’t make an excuse, but that guy compared to a 100 percent healthy Isaiah Johnson is night and day different. And I can’t wait to give people that opportunity to see that guy.”