AFC West Notes: Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs

Broncos

• ESPN’s Jeff Legwold thinks the Broncos ultimately elect to put the franchise tag on S Justin Simmons. 
• Simmons thinks that’s what will end up happening as well, at least while the two sides continue to work on a long-term deal: “We expect to get franchise tagged.” (SiriusXM NFL Radio)
• Mike Klis reports that the Broncos have parted ways with director of football analytics Mike Tanney. Klis says the decision was “mutual” and Tanney shouldn’t be out of work long. 

Chargers

• ESPN’s Eric Williams thinks the Chargers ultimately elect to put the franchise tag on TE Hunter Henry. 

Chiefs

Chiefs GM Brett Veach said on the “In the Trenches” podcast that their top priority is keeping as much of their Super Bowl team together as possible, with DL Chris Jones, “at the top of the list.” 

“Chris is obviously a great player and he’s a priority,” Veach said, via ChiefsWire.com. “We have a lot of priorities. Look, we know how hard it is to win a Super Bowl. It hadn’t been done in 50 years and we won it with the group we had last year. So I think that as we attack this offseason, first up its free agency before the draft, our goal and mindset is to do whatever we can to retain as many players as we can. And Chris (Jones) is at the top of that list because of the talent he is.”

• ESPN’s Adam Teicher thinks the Chiefs ultimately elect to put the franchise tag on DT Chris Jones. 
• Veach noted the presence of QB Patrick Mahomes and the expected increase in primetime games should help Kansas City attract more free agents.