Another week of the 2020 NFL offseason has gone by. That means it’s time to check in with the Kansas City Chiefs’ division rivals in the AFC West. Below you’ll find some of the top stories of the past week for the Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders.
No Chargers opted out of 2020 season
“Los Angeles is one of three teams in the NFL to not have any players opt out of the 2020 season, as Thursday’s 1:00 p.m. PT deadline for NFL players to opt-out of the 2020 season has passed.”
This is an advantage for Los Angeles as the rest of the AFC West had players opt-out for the season. Chargers players can still choose to opt-out in specific situations, but to start the season they will have their full roster.
Anthony Lynn talks quarterback battle at Chargers media availability
“Taylor will have big shoes to fill, replacing Philip Rivers – who was the Bolts’ starter for the past 14 seasons. Lynn believes Taylor is capable of leading the locker room, citing him as ‘one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the game.'”
The high praise of Taylor also came with Lynn saying that he has the starting quarterback job as of right now. That should not come as a surprise as Justin Herbert will need time to adjust to the pro level, especially with no preseason games. It will be interesting to see if they give time to Herbert any this season if the Chargers aren’t winning games.
Drew Lock says Broncos offense will need to learn from their mistakes
“It might not be the prettiest at first, but our job is to make the mistake, learn from it and try not to make that mistake more than once because we really don’t have time to keep making the same mistakes.”
The Denver offense is on the rise after adding running back Melvin Gordon and drafting wide receiver Jerry Jeudy. However, without a preseason Lock is expecting a bumpy start to begin the season. If they can learn from their early mistakes, they could become one of the top offenses in the NFL.
Bradley Chubb thinks Broncos can have a top-five defense in 2020
“I feel like we could be top five or top 10 in the league,” Chubb said during a Zoom conference call on July 31. “Like I said, we’re in the second year of the defense. Everybody is going to be a lot more comfortable and communication is going to be a lot clearer. We have a lot of playmakers now.”
The second year in a new defensive system could help improve the Broncos defensive rankings. It also helps that the Broncos added cornerback A.J. Bouye and defensive lineman Jurrell Casey to a defense that already had Von Miller, Bradley Chubb and Justin Simmons.
Two Raiders opt-out for 2020 season
“On July 30th, Raiders head coach Jon Gruden held a conference call on which he was feeling pretty good about his roster and getting camp started. Mostly he was happy no players had opted out of the 2020 season, saying ‘I have not heard of any of our players doing that, so we’re pleased to announce it.’
Well, four days later, the Raiders had their first players opt out of the season over COVID-19 concerns. The two players are defensive end Jeremiah Valoaga and defensive back D.J. Killings.”
Neither Valoaga nor Killings are starters, so their loss won’t be as much of an impact as other teams who lost more valuable pieces. There were only three teams who did not have a player opt-out for the season with one being the Los Angeles Chargers.
Raiders announce no fans will be allowed at home games for 2020 season
“While most teams have already informed fans that attendance will be limited this season, the Raiders are the first team to completely rule out any and all fans for the 2020 season. However, it is very likely that more teams will go in this direction as we inch closer to the season.”
Las Vegas will not be able to show off their brand-new stadium to the public after announcing no fans will be allowed to attend home games in 2020. It hasn’t been decided if the Raiders will have cardboard cutout or virtual fans, as they do in the MLB, but fans will have to wait until at least 2021 to step inside.
