AFC Notes: Justin Herbert, Patrick Mahomes, Chargers, Chiefs, Raiders

Chargers

Chargers QB Justin Herbert said his recent left ankle injury isn’t as severe as the right ankle sprain he suffered earlier this season. 

“I would say that this one is probably not as severe,” Herbert said, via Kris Rhim of ESPN. “It’s definitely painful enough to be able to miss a practice, but I feel like I’ve been able to move around a little bit better this week than I did after Carolina, where I was put into a boot and had difficulty walking.”

Herbert said his last injury limited his mobility in the pocket. 

“It was difficult to play with,” Herbert said. “It was one of those things that we kind of talked about where we kind of limited some of the runs. I didn’t feel great running out the pocket.”

Herbert missed Wednesday’s practice given their trainers felt he wasn’t 100 percent. 

“If I felt like I could have practiced it at 100 percent and make sure that everyone’s getting the full-speed rep, I definitely would’ve,” Herbert said. “I didn’t think I was able to do that. Trainers didn’t think I was able to do that today, so we were all on the same page with that.”

Chiefs

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes admitted that the team’s three-game stretch over 11 days will be physically and mentally challenging.

“It’s not a good feeling,” Mahomes said, via Around The NFL. “You never want to play this amount of games in this short of time. It’s not great for your body. But at the end of the day it’s your job, your profession, you have to come to work and do it.”

Chiefs HC Andy Reid reiterated that the team is taking that stretch one game at a time and they’re on a normal week’s worth of rest and preparation for their upcoming game.

“The main thing is you get guys ready for the game. Give them a chance to get ready for the game,” Reid said. “They’re going to do whatever you present to them. You try to help them out with that. Right now we have a normal week right here. We have to take care of business here.”

Raiders 

Raiders QB Aidan O’Connell said he’s hoping to recover from the bone bruise in his knee in time for Week 15’s Monday Night game against the Falcons. 

“Yeah, I’m hoping to get there,” O’Connell said, via PFT. “Obviously, we’ve got a longer week this week, which helps, and so just really taking it day by day. Obviously, not something I’ve been through with this particular injury. So, trying to get there.”

O’Connell reflected on being carted off of the field in Week 14, saying his knee wasn’t responding how doctors wanted at the time of his injury. 

“Yeah, it was obviously not super fun. I was in a lot of pain,” O’Connell said. “Yeah, just not a super fun experience overall, and wish it didn’t come to that, wish it didn’t happen that way. But it’s part of the game. It definitely hurt on the field, of course. And then my knee wasn’t responding how the doctors hoped it would. And so, yeah, you definitely fear the worst, obviously going through that. But then got some imaging done, and yeah, it seemed like it was definitely best-case scenario.”

O’Connell thinks his injury is a bit overblown given he’s a quarterback when players at other positions are also dealing with issues. 

“I think you have to be tough in the NFL. I don’t think I’m unique in that way. We’ve got a lot of tough guys. I think it’s funny the quarterback gets hurt, and everyone’s talking about it, but we have offensive linemen, defensive linemen, guys that are dealing with things every day, and people never talk about it. So, I think it’s hard to be an NFL player, and everyone in the locker room is definitely tough.”