A weekly look around the AFC West opens with a glance at the division before the season officially gets underway.
Well, Addicts, the season is upon us—finally!
Real football is happening tonight, and the sort that we’re excited about is only days away. I will be providing you a weekly report on the AFC West throughout the season, looking at what happened around the AFC West that could impact us die-hard Chiefs fans.
In anticipation of real football, let’s take a look at what is going on this week.
Los Angeles Chargers
The biggest news coming out of L.A. is that the Chargers have re-signed tight end Antonio Gates, the team’s all-time leader in catches, receiving yards, and touchdowns. As the Chiefs look to take on the Chargers on Sunday, it will be interesting to see if Gates remains successful against the less than ideal secondary of the Chiefs.
Of course, in true Charger form, they have already been plagued with an injury bug. Cornerback Jason Verrett tore his Achilles, safety Jaylen Watkins tore his ACL, and tight end Hunter Henry also tore his ACL. Philip Rivers is back as well as Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram.
The Chiefs head to L.A. and look to beat the Chargers for the ninth straight time on Sunday. Game time: 3:05 p.m. C.T.
Oakland Raiders
The Khalil Mack trade rocked the NFL this week. In Jon Gruden’s quest to make sure all his players are riddled with arthritis, he traded a player that could arguably be considered a once in a lifetime player. What he was thinking when that deal was made, we will never know, but Mack is now out of the AFC and headed to Chicago to play for our old pal Matt Nagy.
In exchange, the Raiders got a host of draft picks, but in my opinion, why not pay a sure thing rather than play the lottery of the draft? I believe the Bears walked away the winners of this deal, and the Raiders, well, they just keep on Raider-ing.
Derek Carr and Amari Cooper are back, but we will not see Martavis Bryant as the Raiders cut him after they had traded a third round pick for him. The Raiders also traded for AJ McCarron to backup Carr. Other notable senior citizens on the roster for the Raiders: Jordy Nelson, Marshawn Lynch, and Derrick Johnson.
The Raiders play host to the L.A. Rams where Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib can fight with Amari Cooper. Game time: Monday night 9:20 p.m. C.T.
Denver Broncos
The Broncos have been fairly quiet of late, but let’s not forget that they are entering this season with what some experts have called the best rookie class. This is good because the Broncos cut half of their 2017 draft class (WR Carlos Henderson, CB Brendan Langley, WR Isaiah McKenzie, RB De’Angelo Henderson) on Saturday.
This offseason, they signed Case Keenum to a two-year deal to lead the team and parted ways with Paxton Lynch, a former first rounder. It’s hard to say what the Broncos will look like and what GM John Elway is thinking, but if Von Miller and Bradley Chubb generate the pass rush that they are capable of, they could give some teams real problems.
Next. Scouting the Enemy: L.A. Chargers, Week 1. dark
The Broncos host the Seattle Seahawks at Mile High on Sunday. Game time: 3:25 p.m. C.T.