AFC West Notes: Travis Kelce, Derwin James, Chargers, Chiefs, Raiders

Chargers

Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh disagreed with the NFL’s decision to suspend S Derwin James for his hit in Week 3 on Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth.  

“There was not a defenseless player; [he] changed his course, and I thought that Derwin’s helmet was stiff-armed by Mr. Freiermuth,” Harbaugh said, via ChargersWire. “I thought [the stiff-arm] caused his head to make the contact and I thought the contact was first with the forearm, then the shoulder, then the head.”

Harbaugh said James reached out to officials over the offseason to gain a better understanding of how to apply hits.

“He has reached out on his own to officials this past summer to gain a better grasp of how they want it done,” Harbaugh said. “And the evidence is right there in the tape. I mean, look at all his 20-some tackles on the season and he’s going out his way … so that he can not injure another player or hit him with the head. So yeah, I’m disappointed.”

Chiefs

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes said TE Travis Kelce has no problems with his lack of production so far this season with Kansas City at 3-0. 

“I feel like I want to give him the ball more, whereas he’s just like, ‘I just want to win, man. I don’t care, I’ll run these routes and take guys with me so that other guys can get open,’” Mahomes said, via ProFootballTalk. “We understand he’s an important part of this offense, and we want to make sure that we’re still featuring him, but at the same time, if defenses are going to take away him, I’ll feed the ball to other guys and let them make plays.”

Mahomes can see teams adjusting coverage to Rashee Rice, which will open up the field for Kelce once again. 

“As the season goes on, if we continue to show that we’re going to throw it to Rashee [Rice] and we’re going to throw it to these other guys and they’re going to make plays, teams are going to have to do those one-on-one matchups and that’s when Travis will eat.”

Mahomes mentioned that Kelce has been a fantastic leader around the locker room and impacts games in multiple ways without the ball. 

“I mean, what’s been great for me in my career is that he wants to make an impact in the game and he wants to make plays, but he wants to win at the end of the day,” Mahomes said. “If we’re winning, he’s good with just going out there and playing hard, blocking, doing whatever he can to impact the game. Whenever we‘re winning games like this, that’s everybody, man. You just want to win at the end of the day. He’s doing a great job of being a leader on the team, playing hard, doing whatever he can to make an impact in the game. When you do that in this league, usually good things come and I’m excited for him to go out there and make an impact receiving the ball as well.”

Raiders

Raiders DT Christian Wilkins isn’t feeling discouraged following Las Vegas’ disastrous 36-22 loss to the Panthers in Week 3 and is encouraging teammates to move on from the poor performance. 

“I try to do a good job of just staying even-keeled through it all,” Wilkins said, via Vic Tafur of The Athletic. “And that’s what I’ll encourage a lot of my teammates to do. Never overreact, even after tough losses (or) bad plays, whatever. And even when you have a great game, don’t get too excited because that’s just how this game goes. It’s very humbling either way. And yeah, it’s a roller coaster, but ride it, have your hands up and take it in stride and have fun with this thing.”

Raiders HC Antonio Pierce said they cannot rely on Maxx Crosby for everything and must find production out of their other players. 

“Our effort, our energy, our passion did not show up (Sunday),” Pierce said. “And that just can’t always be 98 (Crosby). I mean, we obviously know what 98 is dealing with; you see it. He gave it all he had … but there are 10 other guys on the field, and they’ve got to play to a high level. And we did that last week against Baltimore. Those guys did do that. We’ve just got to be consistently doing it.”

As for Crosby dealing with an ankle injury suffered against the Ravens in Week 2, the edge rusher said he’s committed to playing no matter what. 

“It sucks,” Crosby said. “It’s unfortunate … but it’s just part of the game. I am going to go out there if I am 100 percent or 50 percent.”