AFC West Notes: Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders

Broncos

Broncos RB Phillip Lindsay fully expects to return to the Pro Bowl level he played at last year before suffering a season-ending wrist injury.

“I’m very thankful [for the Broncos’ staff],” Lindsay said, via ESPN.com. “They hold the reins back on me a lot. They make sure everything goes well, which they’re supposed to. You don’t want to go out there and mess up by tripping or falling or by something that’s not supposed to happen. I’m itching to be out there, and they know that.”

Lindsay was limited in during offseason workouts, but he feels like he’s “very close” to returning. 

“I feel like I’m very close,” Lindsay said. “It’s going to come down to the head coach and our training staff to make the decisions. I trust them. For me, I’m going to be ready when it’s time. That’s it. When they say it’s time to go, they say I’m going today, I’ll be ready. … It’s a long process, but it’s worth it. You can’t go out there half injured, half healthy. You’re going against these grown men and it’s your livelihood. You have to be OK.”

Chiefs

• Chiefs K Harrison Butker will carry cap figures of $1.345M (2019), $3.195M (2020), $3.94M (2021), $4.2M (2022), $4.4M (2023) and $3.84M (2024) as part of his new contract. (Nick Jacobs)
• Chiefs RT Mitchell Schwartz will carry cap figures of $6.43M (2019), $10.82M (2020), and $10.05M (2021) as part of his new contract. (Nick Jacobs)
• According to Joel Corry, Butker receives $9.1 million guaranteed and $6.49M fully guaranteed while Schwartz gets $19.5 million in total guarantees and $17.5M fully guaranteed.

Raiders

According to Raiders HC Jon Gruden, TE Darren Waller has been one of their “most impressive” players since they added him late last year. 

“We’ll we said, I think the last time we talked, since he’s been here he’s been one of our most impressive players,” Gruden said. “He played a key role last year when he got here. He’s got some big shoes to fill, I know he respects that, but he’s versatile, he’s smart, he’s fast. He wants to do good, he’s a great kid.”

Waller is appreciative of the opportunity with the Raiders as well as the support from Gruden. 

“The thing with me is…I feel like people have always had faith in me, but it was like I didn’t really have faith in myself,” Waller said. “So it’s part of doing my part, doing my half because a lot of coaches have stuck their neck out for me and what I’ve given them in return isn’t what they deserve or what the team deserved. For Coach Gruden to say that, I feel like I’m at a place in my life where I can build off of that and make the most of my abilities and what God gave me. That’s just what I plan on doing.”