AFC West Notes: Broncos, Chargers, Raiders

Broncos

Mike Klis of 9News mentions that second-year WR Isaiah McKenzie is currently the team’s No. 1 punt returner.

“I was saying since yesterday that I can’t wait until Saturday to show Broncos Country and everybody else that I can do the job and that I’m going to be a great punt returner,” said McKenzie.

Chargers

While there has been talk in recent weeks of the Chargers possibly re-signing veteran TE Antonio Gates, QB Phillip Rivers mentioned that he has a “growing” connection with Virgil Green.

“[Our connection] is growing,” Rivers said, via Chargers.com. “We’re working through how I like things, what I’m expecting on certain routes. He’s getting a feel for this offense. He was in it similarly with [former Chargers coach Mike] McCoy [in Denver]. Virgil is going to be just fine. He has played a lot of football and is a good football player. Those kind of things, you’ll see more of that and more plays like that.”

Raiders

According to James Jones of NFL Media, Raiders WR Martavis Bryant is having some trouble picking up the team’s playbook.

“I just had a chance to speak with Coach Olson and he said talent-wise, there’s probably nobody that can compete with [Bryant] talent-wise,” Jones said, via Pro Football Talk. “But they said he’s not picking up the playbook, and that’s the reason of a little frustration right now because they want to get him on the field but he’s not able to grasp the playbook yet.”

“They’ve only got him lining up in one spot to try to slow it down and help him out,” Jones added. “They need him to pick it up.”

• Ian Rapoport confirms the report that the Raiders are asking veteran LT Donald Penn to take a “small pay cut” but it remains to be seen whether he’ll agree to rework his contract.
• According to Rapoport, it’s possible the Raiders could consider trading Penn, depending on how things play out in the coming weeks.