AFC Notes: Josh Jacobs, Chargers, Chiefs, Raiders

Chargers

Fixing the running game was a major priority for new Chargers OC Kellen Moore, and while preseason football should be taken with a dash of salt the early results are encouraging. Los Angeles racked up over 200 yards rushing in the opener against the Rams and presumed No. 2 RB Joshua Kelley ripped off a 76-yard touchdown in the finale against the 49ers. 

“It’s heading where it needs to be for the regular season,” Moore said via USA Today’s Juliette Jones.

“You certainly have certain concepts you feel really comfortable with – those are gonna be our kinda bread-and-butter concepts,” Moore added. “By game plans you’re gonna present different things and I think that’s part of the training camp process. You wanna expose them to the different tools that you’ll utilize through the season.”

Chiefs

Part of the deal with rookies in the NFL is rollercoaster moments, and the Chiefs are going through that with second-round WR Rashee Rice. In the second preseason game, Rice caught everything thrown his way. In the third, the issues with drops from his college scouting report cropped up as he dropped half of his six targets. 

“I would say that I’ve got a lot of room for improvement,” Rice said via Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star. “I’m known for running after the catch — yards after the catch — so I’ve just got to figure out a way for me to fix trying to take off before I have the ball in my hands.”

Raiders

• A Thursday night meeting between the Raiders brain trust and RB Josh Jacobs and his agent helped pave the way for a resolution to the holdout. Per Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Raiders GM Dave Ziegler said both sides were able to get on the same page: “We were able to have some open conversations and laid some things on the table. And if there was anything we needed to get on the same page on, we were able to do that.”
• Similar to how the Giants were able to bridge the gap with franchise RB Saquon Barkley, the Raiders added some money to the tag to help get Jacobs back in the fold. However, unlike New York and Barkley’s arrangement which was incentives, Las Vegas increased the value of Jacobs’ tender to $11.8 million: “We wanted to do something that we were going to be good with and the player was going to be happy about. And I think that’s where we’re at.”
   
• The two sides can’t negotiate an extension until after this season. Ziegler didn’t commit to anything one way or the other: “If it works out that way, and obviously there’s a lot of moving parts, but it’s something that we’ll definitely consider and have interest in doing.” 
• Figuring out the best way to integrate Jacobs back into the offense after missing so much time is also something the Raiders will have to navigate. There are five practices between now and Week 1. Ziegler told Bonsignore: “We’ll wait and make a smart decision on that once we’re able to start practicing, see where we’re at, and take it from there.”
• Ziegler is glad to see WR Hunter Renfrow healthy in training camp after dealing with a shoulder injury: “It’s been great to see him feel great and play great and we’re ecstatic to see him let it rip this season.” (Vic Tafur)