AFC West Notes: Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders

Broncos

New Broncos QB Joe Flacco believes he still has plenty of years left as a starting quarterback, and he agrees with GM John Elway who says Flacco is entering his prime at 34.  

“I definitely feel that way,” Flacco said via Mike Klis. “It makes you feel good to hear somebody else say that. I mean shoot with Tom Brady now quarterbacks are playing till they’re 60 years old. I’m as healthy as I’ve ever been.”

Flacco hasn’t defined how long he wants to play as clearly as Brady has, but he also hasn’t put a limit on himself.  

“Obviously at any time something crazy can happen, but barring anything crazy happening I’m as healthy as I can be and as physical and ready to go as ever,” Flacco said via Pro Football Talk. “So I’m excited about what lies ahead for me and my future and I’m not putting a number on how much time I’ve got left to play. I want to play as long as I can and hopefully they’re dragging me out of this building a long time from now.” 

• Broncos OL Connor McGovern is in line to start at center for Denver next season. (Nicki Jhabvala)
• Elway also added the team had “big concerns” about former C Matt Paradis‘ ankle injury.  
• Regarding a potential extension for CB Chris Harris, Elway said the Broncos would circle back to it after the draft: “We’ll talk about that later.  It’s something we would like to look at.”  (Troy Renck)

Chiefs

Chiefs GM Brett Veach explained the team’s thinking in terms of moving on from a number of notable players this offseason including S Eric Berry, OLB Dee Ford and OLB Justin Houston among others. 

“Change is inevitable and it’s always hard to move on from players who have been here,” Veach said, via Pro Football Talk. “I think it certainly makes it more difficult when change involves long-standing members of the community and the locker room — certainly talking about Eric Berry and Justin Houston. What two guys better exemplify that? As everyone knows, these guys were outstanding players. All the accomplishments on the field will certainly never be forgotten. One of the things that Clark [Hunt], Andy [Reid], and I will always talk about too is just the impact they’ve had on the community and the great things they’ve done for the people here in Kansas City. It’s certainly very difficult, but again change is a part of this process.

Raiders

From the start, Raiders GM Mike Mayock was interested in WR Antonio Brown, but he played it cool and let the Steelers make the first move.  

“I kept saying, ‘We’re not interested,’” Mayock said via Pro Football Talk. “Then the Buffalo thing fell through. One of their guys reached out to Jon [Gruden]. . . . [Steelers GM] Kevin [Colbert] said to me, ‘Would you trade your two? I said, ‘No, but we might trade our three.’” 

• According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Michael Gehlken, the Raiders made a late push to sign DE Markus Golden, but were outbid by the Giants.  
• Oakland will host Michigan DL Rashan Gary as one of its top-30 visits.  (Dave Birkett)
• The Raiders have also met with Michigan CB David Long.  (Scott Bair)
• According to Michael Gehlken, the Raiders haven’t closed the door on possibly re-signing WR Jordy Nelson at a lesser cost, but they decided to release him before his $3 million salary for 2019 became fully guaranteed on Friday.
• Gehlken notes that with Raiders NT Justin Ellis on their roster Friday, his $2.25 million salary for the 2019 season became fully guaranteed.