AFC West Notes: Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs

Broncos

The Broncos brought in K Taylor Bertolet to compete with Brandon McManus for the kicking job this summer. However, McManus is used to the competition and isn’t letting it affect his approach. 

“I’ve had another kicker in camp with me every other year,” McManus said, via the Denver Post. “It’s nothing that I’m not used to and it’s always good to have someone competing against you. And it’s not just [Bertolet]. There are 31 other jobs out there and a bunch of others kicking as well.”

Chargers

• Joel Corry of CBS Sports writes that the Chargers couldn’t have been thrilled by the Steelers’ decision to sign QB Ben Roethlisberger to a two-year, $68 million extension at the end of April, given that Phillip Rivers is in line for a new deal. 
• Corry expects the Chargers to use the exclusive franchise tag on Rivers in 2020 at the cost of around $32 million fully guaranteed if they can’t get an extension in place before then. 

Chiefs

Joel Corry of CBS Sports explained his article about players in line for contract extensions this offseason that Chiefs DL Chris Jones is unlikely to have a lengthy holdout should he skip training camp workouts. 

“Any training camp holdout by Jones should be relatively brief,” Corry writes. “A year of service towards free agency (i.e.; an accrued season) isn’t earned when a player doesn’t report to his team at least 30 days prior to NFL’s first regular season game. The reporting deadline this year is Aug. 6.

“Missing this Aug. 6 deadline and Jones playing out his rookie deal after a failed holdout would make him a restricted free agent in 2020, rather than unrestricted. Under this scenario, the Chiefs would have the ability to give Jones a restricted free agent tender, which will be between $4.627 million and $4.848 million, where they would get a first-round pick next year from a team signing him to an offer sheet that isn’t matched. Getting the year of service isn’t a concern for holdouts with four or more years of service since these players already have enough accrued seasons to qualify for unrestricted free agency.”