It’s been a busy day in the AFC West. Too busy to ignore, so let’s round it up, starting with the division champs.
Chiefs
The rich get richer, I guess. Today the Chiefs reportedly re-upped Head Coach Any Reid and General Manager Brett Veach.
The #Chiefs are finalizing new six-year contracts with coach Andy Reid and GM Brett Veach, tying both to the reigning Super Bowl champs through the 2025 season, per sources.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 31, 2020
Oh, and the Super Bowl champions are returning 18 of 22 starters with a 10-year extension of Patrick Mahomes and big extensions for TE Travis Kelce and DE Chris Jones.
Chargers
While the Chiefs are doing victory laps with their new big contracts, the Chargers continue to be cursed. The meniscus injury to Derwin James is the worst-case scenario. He will require surgery with a recovery time of at least six months according to multiple reports.
I'm told #Chargers S Derwin James, "needs surgery and will be out approximately 6 months," per source.
— IG: JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) September 1, 2020
The best-case scenario was probably a partial season injured reserve situation that would have had him back by week nine when the Chargers face the Raiders. Instead, the All-Pro safety is done for the season. This after spending 11 games on injured reserve last season with a stress fracture in his foot.
Broncos
There are a couple of new linebackers in the AFC West. A day after the Raiders made a trade with the Dolphins to acquire former round two pick Raekwon McMillan, the Broncos signed free agent former No. 7 overall pick Mark Barron.
The 30-year-old was a full-time starter for the Rams for four seasons from 2015-18. His final game with the Rams was the Super Bowl in which he started alongside Raiders linebacker Cory Littleton.
Barron started nine games for the Steelers last season, putting up 82 combined tackles and three sacks.
Raiders
With the addition of Raekwon McMillan, the Raiders needed to make a roster move. That move ended up being a bit of a stunner as they released veteran cornerback Prince Amukamara. His exit opens the door for Damon Arnette to be the starter on the outside across from second-year corner Trayvon Mullen and gives the Raiders an extremely young group of cornerbacks.
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