AFC Notes: Russell Wilson, Kadarius Toney, Chandler Jones, Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders

Broncos

Broncos QB Russell Wilson said he’s used to people doubting him and thinks he’s proven to be a successful quarterback throughout his career. 

“I’m used to some of those who believe and some of those who doubt, and I think that when you’re playing high stakes and you dream to be the best you can possibly be every day, there’s always going to be people that question whether you can do it or not,” Wilson said, via Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette. “And I think I’ve proven that throughout my career what I can do and I got to do it again.”

Broncos HC Sean Payton said Wilson is leading by example with the work he does as a quarterback. 

“Certainly, he leads by example with the work he puts in and the amount of time he’s on the opponent in the building,” Payton said. “Part of that is the position pre-requisite. (But Wilson also is) really upbeat. He’s positive and encouraging. He has a lot of really good traits that I like.”

When asked how to avoid a disappointing season like in 2022, Wilson said they just need to play how they are capable of. 

“The biggest thing is just going out on the field and just doing it and what we know how to do, playing at the highest level, winning football games,” said Wilson.

Chiefs

Despite suffering a couple of key drops, one which led to a pick-six, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes still has full confidence in WR Kadarius Toney.

“I have trust in [Toney],” Mahomes said, via ESPN. “He missed a lot of training camp, and obviously he wanted to play and fought [during] rehab hard so he could play and stuff’s not always going to go your way. Obviously he would’ve wanted to catch a few of those in the game, but I’ve trusted he’s going to be that guy that I go to in those crucial moments, and he’s going to make the catch and win us some games like he did last year. So we’re going to continue to work him in, get him more and more reps, and I’m sure that those drops will kind of disappear.”

Chiefs HC Andy Reid said that he spoke with TE Travis Kelce before the game and he wasn’t 100%, so he opted to sit him out of the opener.

“It just wasn’t feeling right, so I wasn’t going to put him out there with that,” Reid said. “And he was honest with me and we talked, so just not enough time there.”

Mahomes is optimistic that Kelce has an opportunity to suit up in week two against Jacksonville.

“I’m not going to put anything past Trav,” Mahomes said. “He was trying to play today. He just literally couldn’t. I don’t even know if it was his decision. It was kind of the guys above him knowing it’s going to be a long season. He’s going to try. He’ll do whatever he can to be out there, and hopefully he can clear all those doctors’ tests and then get out there on the football field.”

Raiders

• Raiders DE Chandler Jones has been away from the team after posting since-deleted Instagram comments, saying he didn’t want to play for Las Vegas anymore, citing McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler as the reason. On Wednesday, Jones posted on Instagram that the Raiders sent Dr. Heather Thanepohn, who is the Clinic Program Manager for the Crisis Response Team in Las Vegas, to Jones’ home, per Tashan Reed of The Athletic. 
• Jones later posted the crisis response team manager was sent by the organization. (Reed)

• Raiders HC Josh McDaniels says first-round DE Tyree Wilson will be ready to play on Sunday, adding: “Nobody’s going to play 70 plays on Sunday.” (Gutierrez)