AFC West Notes: Chargers, Chiefs, Raiders

Chargers

Albert Breer of SI spoke with new Chargers QB Justin Herbert about what they told him upon selecting him with the sixth overall pick in the draft.

“They told me I didn’t shy away from anything,” Herbert told Breer. “This draft process, I played in the Senior Bowl, went through with the combine, did all these things and they talked about how they liked that and they thought of that as a good thing. I appreciated that they told me that.”

Herbert notes that while he hasn’t received the playbook, he has spoken with teammates Hunter Henry and Easton Stick. However, he has not spoken with QB Tyrod Taylor whom he will be expected to compete with during training camp.

“Competition’s great for everyone,” said Herbert. “He’s going to push me and I’m going to push him. He’s had a lot of success and so I’m gonna do everything I can to learn from him, do whatever I can to help him, and at the end of the day, it’s all about the team. We’re both professionals now and I’m really excited to learn from him because he’s done some great things. So it’s going to be a really great quarterback room and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Chiefs

Patrick Mahomes said he wants to be “a Chief for a long time” and is looking for security in his next contract. 

“Obviously I want to be a Chief for a long time. I want to have a contract that says that and I can go out there and know I have that security. I understand and trust the Chiefs organization and everybody in it that they’re gonna handle it the right way,” Mahomes said, per Terez A. Paylor. “I trust my representation that they’re going to ease my mind and let me go out there and just love the game I love playing. So for me, whenever that happens, it happens. But I’m gonna focus on being the best football player I can be every single day.”

• According to Matt Verderame, Bashaud Breeland’s new one-year contract with the Chiefs reflects his potential four-game suspension for a substance-abuse violation and includes incentives for playing time “much lower” than his 2019 playing time. 
• Verderame reports that all 32 teams were aware of Breeland’s pending suspension during free agency.   
• Verderame notes that Breeland was notified of his potential suspension back in late February.
• Chiefs HC Andy Reid said he has spoken with Breeland and they plan to allow the legal side of it to play out. (James Palmer)

Raiders

Raiders QB Derek Carr tells Vic Tafur of The Athletic that HC Jon Gruden and GM Mike Mayock “called me and said that they did their due diligence on everything” before confirming their plans to move forward with him as their starting quarterback.

“[F]rom what they told me — I can tell you that Mr. Mayock and Mr. Gruden both called me and said that they did their due diligence on everything. … And they can tell you that in their own words. I am not going to say what they said, because it’s kind of awesome and I don’t want them to have to answer for it. But I felt very comfortable with what they said,” Carr said.

“Every year this happens. The team has to, like Mayock says — everybody tries to make it dramatic, but he has to look at the free-agent quarterbacks every year. And he will tell you that he will do that every year, whether we win the Super Bowl or not. He does that at every position, but people might look like … “It doesn’t give Derek confidence.” Trust me, they give me enough confidence through my cell phone. I don’t need them to say anything publicly. I know what’s going on.

“I’ve never been blindsided by these guys. That would be the only time I’d be mad, but every word that they’ve said to me, they have stuck true to.”