Around the AFC West: Former Broncos return to the division
Oct 25, 2019, 6:30 AM
The Broncos are trying to salvage what they can in the 2019 season. Sitting with a 2-5 record and at the bottom of the division, Denver travels to Indianapolis to take on the Colts in Week 8. They’ll be playing their first game since trading away wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders earlier in the week.
The AFC West has a bunch of news items to keep up with. This division is not as strong as we thought it would be at the start of the regular season, but the teams are still capable of surprising some on a weekly basis.
Let’s take a spin around the AFC West to see what the competition is up to.
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Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs got the best possible news they could in regards to the knee injury superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered against the Broncos last week. He dislocated his kneecap in Denver and some feared this injury would knock Mahomes out for the rest of the season.
Instead, Mahomes is back to practice this week.
Now, he’s being limited – and for good reason. The MRI and medical examinations that Mahomes received after the injury revealed minimal damage to his knee. In practice this Thursday, Mahomes was working with the second-team offense.
Veteran Matt Moore is going to be the starter for the Chiefs in Week 8. Kansas City is at home to play on Sunday night against a tough Packers team. Moore is a decent backup, but the team certainly won’t be as dangerous on offense without Mahomes.
Good thing they should get wideout Sammy Watkins back this week. He’s been missing time due to a hamstring injury, but Watkins has been fully participating in practice over the last few days. That’s good news for the offense as Watkins gives them yet another big-play weapon when they want to go through the air.
Don’t be surprised if Mahomes is back for their Week 9 game at home against the Vikings.
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Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers have signed yet another former Broncos draft pick. Already, they have former Denver picks like Michael Schofield and Virgil Green on the roster and this week they added another one.
Free-agent defensive lineman Sylvester Williams was signed to an undisclosed contract by the Chargers on Tuesday.
Williams was a first-round pick of the Broncos in the 2013 NFL Draft. He spent four years with the team and was part of the defense that won Super Bowl 50 in 2015.
Williams did not get his fifth-year option picked up by the Broncos and he’s bounced around the league since the team let him hit the free-agent market. In fact, the Chargers are the fifth team he’s played on since 2017.
The Chargers need all the help they can get up front on defense. So far this season, Los Angeles has given up the 10th-most rushing yards in 2019. They’ve allowed 820 rushing yards and 4.1 yards per carry to opponents and need a guy like Williams to help stuff the run.
Williams wasn’t necessarily a bust for the Broncos – he did start most of his four years with the team and won a championship. However, he’s another in a long line of misses the team has had in the first round. We’ll see if Williams can actually stick with the Chargers.
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Oakland Raiders
The Raiders have a couple of their star players on offense banged up entering Week 8. Starting running back Josh Jacobs has been battling a shoulder injury and has not practiced yet this week. Jacobs told reporters he could still play against the Texans in Week 8, even if he is unable to practice during the week. We’ll see if the team would allow the rookie to do that or if they would turn to guys like Jalen Richard or DeAndre Washington in his place.
They must feel good about Jacobs availability because they worked out former Broncos (and former Raiders) running back C.J. Anderson on Monday. Anderson has been out of work since the Lions let him go in the first month of the regular season. He’s worked out for a handful of teams and should find a new home before the end of the year.
Anderson was with the Raiders for about a week last year before getting his release, so he could sign with the Rams – then he helped that team get to the Super Bowl. If the Raiders didn’t sign Anderson, they must be okay with what they have in place at the running back position behind Jacobs – for now.
The team has been missing wide receiver Tyrell Williams, but he is getting closer to a return. Williams hasn’t played since Week 4, as he’s been dealing with a foot injury. He’s dealing with plantar fasciitis and it’s not getting much better. Without Williams, the team has to turn to guys like Keelan Doss, Trevor Davis and Zay Jones.
The Raiders are 3-3 and are looking to get over .500, but they’ll have their hands full with the Texans in Week 8.
