AFC Notes: Justin Simmons, Broncos, Chargers, Raiders

Broncos

Broncos S Justin Simmons says he’s embracing the responsibility of holding down the backend of the team’s defense.

“I embrace it,” Simmons said, via BroncosWire.com. “I welcome it, and I challenge myself. That’s what Kareem and I get paid to do. We have to make sure that we find ways to win the down — whatever it looks like. There will be times when it’ll be put on Pat [Surtain] to win a one-on-one on the outside. There will be times when it’ll be put on Kareem and me to make the right checks. When it comes down to it, no excuses.

“We’re the ones being handed the tools and the weapons to be successful, and it’s our job. I’ve talked about it multiple times last year in a similar defense with Vic. Any of the lapses that were happening in the back end — that’s my responsibility as a safety. Anything that’s happening top down, that directly falls on my plate. I don’t take that lightly.”

Chargers

• Lindsay Thiry of ESPN thinks RB Joshua Kelley could be cut by the Chargers, as the team may prefer to go with fourth-round RB Isaiah Spiller for their No. 3 spot.

Raiders

When new Raiders HC Josh McDaniels arrived in Las Vegas from New England, he brought a lot of people he’d worked with before. One of those ended up being FB Jakob Johnson, one of a growing number of success stories from the NFL’s International Pathway Program, who will take over for FB Alec Ingold in a key role for McDaniels’ offense

“He’s a grinder, man,” McDaniels said of the German-born Johnson, via the Athletic’s Vic Tafur. “He’s a self-made football player. He comes to work every day, takes great care of his body. He’s really a tough player, good teammate, unselfish, willing to do anything you ask him to do. He’ll block, he’ll line up outside of the backfield. He’ll play in a punt team. He does a lot of stuff for your football team, and he adds a lot of value and toughness to it.”