Chargers LB Daiyan Henley talked about the health issue that landed him in the hospital and caused him to miss multiple weeks last year.

“It got pretty severe to say the least,” Henley said, via the team’s website. “Simply due to the fact that I ended up missing some practices, had to go to the hospital. Missing practices, which means missing a couple meetings, having to spend time doing things to get my mind back to full strength just to play, never getting back to full strength until later on in the season, it was a difficult task.”

Henley had a sack during the team’s season opener and took a moment to show his faith to get through the battles that he’s gone through.

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes tried to settle UDFA rookie OL Kahlil Benson down before he made his first start at left tackle, a position he hasn’t played since high school.

“I think the only thing I said to (T Kahlil Benson) him right before the game was, ‘I believe in you,’ and that’s it,” Mahomes said, via A To Z Sports. “You’re out there for a reason; just go out there and be yourself and do what got you here. A lot of times, it’s the NFL. Sometimes you make it bigger than what it is, but you’re still playing a game that you’ve loved since you were a kid, and there’s a reason that you’re in that uniform and the reason that you’re on that field. And so, go out there and do that.”

Mahomes added that he expects Benson to keep improving as he gets live reps and commended him for holding his own against Denver’s pass rush.

“Yeah, I mean, obviously it takes—you have to play in games and stuff like that, but I think what the trust has come from is his work and how he’s worked and went about his business throughout the entire process,” Mahomes explained. “I mean, starting back from OTAs until training camp, he’s the guy; he’s in the building early, he’s late, he asks the right questions, and then he competes, and you want guys that want to go out there and compete and be out there and play and just do whatever they can to help the team. And so, he did a great job of that, of just being out there, and it’s not always going to be perfect. I mean, he went up against one of the best pass rushes in the league, and he did a great job of just finding ways to compete and battle, and he’s gotten better and better every step of the way. And so, I expect him to keep continuing to get better.”

Raiders

Raiders C Tyler Linderbaum was a big part of the team’s opening touchdown in Week 1’s win over the Dolphins, where he peeled off an initial block to stop a rush by Miami DE Chop Robinson. Las Vegas G Caleb Rogers recalled the play, praising Linderbaum’s athleticism. 

“We want to be able to pick that up a little bit cleaner where he’s not having to rely on his athleticism,” Rogers said, via Sam Warren of The Athletic. “Awesome to do, awesome to see, but there’s more there for us and our best can be better.”

Rogers said Linderbaum’s performance is the standard they set for their offensive line. 

“That’s kind of what we expect from this group,” Rogers said. “That’s kind of the standard that we’re looking to push towards and to hold every single day. Our job every single day is to hold the standard and raise the standard. And he does a great job of helping us do that.”

Linderbaum thinks running the ball on the first play of the game helped “set the tone early” for them. 

“First play of the game, we’re running the football, and it’s an opportunity to set the tone early,” Linderbaum said. “That just kind of has to be the mindset of the offensive line, how we wanted to start it. That’s basically what it came down to.”