AFC West

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen says there is a "small" possibility he will be able to play in Thursday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs after suffering a hamstring injury during Sunday's 24-19 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, per ProFootballTalk's Myles Simmons.

Allen suffered the injury in the second quarter of Sunday's season opener and was later ruled out for the remainder of the game.

He caught four passes for 66 yards before exiting.

Allen has been fairly durable over his nine-year NFL career, appearing in at least 12 games in seven of those seasons. He hasn't missed a significant amount of time since tearing his ACL during Week 1 of the 2016 campaign.

The 30-year-old had three consecutive seasons of more than 1,000 receiving yards from 2017 to 2019. However, he took a step back in terms of yardage in 2020 with 992 yards, albeit while tying a single-season career high with eight touchdowns.

Allen also had a tremendous 2021 season, catching 106 passes for 1,138 yards and six touchdowns in 16 games. It was the fifth season of his career with 1,000-plus receiving yards and first since 2019.

L.A. selected Allen in the third round of the 2013 draft out of The University of California. He has made five Pro Bowls since then.

When Allen misses time, the franchise can turn to Josh Palmer, Mike Williams and Jalen Guyton.

Kansas City Chiefs safety Justin Reid found himself playing multiple positions in Sunday's season opener against the Arizona Cardinals after kicker Harrison Butker was carted off the field in the first quarter.

Reid was called upon to serve as Kansas City's kicker after Butker exited. He drilled an extra point to give the Chiefs a 14-0 lead and also kicked off after that.

Butker was later listed as questionable to return with an ankle injury.

Butker rolled his ankle on a kickoff and experienced "immediate swelling," according to the game broadcast (h/t Stephania Bell of ESPN).

Reid had practice kicking throughout training camp and even made an extra point in a preseason game against the Chicago Bears.

And the kick is good from...@Chiefs safety @JustinqReid ‼️

📺: #KCvsCHI on @NFLNetwork
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/3mvoWh7UD3 pic.twitter.com/6NhoFJ2U9G

— NFL (@NFL) August 13, 2022

According to ESPN's Adam Teicher, Reid also made a 65-yard field-goal during one training camp practice. However, he also missed badly on another attempt.

If Butker misses any time, it's reasonable to believe the Chiefs will begin searching for a true kicker to replace him instead of relying on Reid. Brett Maher, Sam Ficken and Michael Badgley are among those still available, per Spotrac.

Maher appeared in eight games for the New Orleans Saints in 2021, making 16 of 18 field-goal attempts and 10 of 12 extra-point attempts. He kicked for the Dallas Cowboys in 2018 and 2019.

Ficken kicked for the Los Angeles Rams in 2017 and 2018 before kicking for the New York Jets in 2019 and 2020. In 18 career games, he has made 35 of 48 field-goal attempts and 49 of 56 extra-point attempts.

Badgley spent the 2021 season split between the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans, appearing in 13 total games. He made 18 of 22 field goals and 40 of 41 extra points. He has also kicked for the Los Angeles Chargers in his career.

If the Chief sign another kicker, Reid will then be able to focus solely on playing safety.

The 25-year-old is in his first season with the Chiefs after spending the first four years of his career with the Houston Texans, which selected him in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft out of Stanford.

Butker has been with the Chiefs since 2017 and is under contract through the 2024 campaign.

Justin Herbert has been one of the NFL's top young stars in his first two seasons, and collectors have taken notice.

According to Goldin, an autographed Herbert Panini National Treasures Platinum NFL Shield autographed rookie card from 2020 sold for $1.8 million over the weekend.

🚨BREAKING🚨 The highest priced Justin Herbert card ever sold in the history of #TheHobby! #OnlyatGoldin

Final Sale Price: $1,800,000 💸 pic.twitter.com/I9ngbEnoM6

— Goldin (@GoldinCo) September 11, 2022

Herbert, 24, followed up an excellent rookie season by throwing for 5,014 yards, 38 touchdowns and 15 interceptions while completing 65.9 percent of his passes in 2021. While he couldn't quite get the 9-8 Los Angeles Chargers into the playoffs, he did help the team improve by two wins from the prior season.

And his memorabilia sales reflected his growing star. Earlier in the week, his 2020 Panini Prizm Black Finite rookie card sold for $1.1 million, per ESPN's Dan Hajducky. Both that card and his National Treasures were 1-of-1, adding to their value.

Only Herbert, Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady have exceeded the $1 million mark for an individual NFL trading card sale.

Even though we are only one game into the 2022 regular season, next offseason is shaping up to be very intriguing, with three of the league's best quarterbacks eligible to sign new deals.

In the case of Lamar Jackson, he's been eligible to sign an extension with the Baltimore Ravens for the past two years. The sides were unable to agree to terms on a contract during that time.

Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said in a statement Friday that, "despite best efforts on both sides," they couldn't reach agreement on a long-term deal with Jackson before the 2019 NFL MVP's self-imposed deadline.

While Ravens fans ponder what might happen with Jackson after this season, players from the 2020 draft class will be eligible to sign extensions for the first time next offseason.

The headliners from that group are quarterbacks Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals and Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers.

Looking ahead to March 2023, here are our best guesses for what the next contracts for Jackson, Burrow and Herbert will look like.

Let's start with Jackson, since his situation has the greatest sense of urgency because this is his final season under contract. The 2016 Heisman Trophy winner won't hit free agency.

Baltimore will almost certainly use the franchise tag to at least continue negotiating with him and not risk losing him on the open market.

Assuming Jackson gets the franchise tag, it could guarantee him $45.4 million in 2023 based on current estimates. Spotrac also noted the Ravens could tag him in 2024, as well, which would put him at a slightly lower cost over the next three seasons than what Russell Wilson will make during that time on his new deal with the Denver Broncos:

An exclusive franchise tag for Lamar Jackson in 2023 currently calculates to $45.4M (thanks in large part to Deshaun Watson's $55M cap hit).

A tag in 2024 would then be $54.4M.

2022: $23M
2023: $45.4M
2024: $54.4M
= $122.8M

Russell Wilson just locked in $124M over that span.

— Spotrac (@spotrac) September 6, 2022

While it's unclear exactly what it would take for Jackson to give the Ravens a long-term commitment, there has been speculation he could be seeking a fully guaranteed contract in the same range as what Deshaun Watson got from the Cleveland Browns ($230 million over five years).

Fox Sports' Jay Glazer reported on Aug. 21 that the Ravens were offering Jackson a deal worth more in total value than what Kyler Murray got from the Arizona Cardinals ($230.5 million over five years), but the team didn't want to give him a fully guaranteed deal.

Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh is optimistic that things will eventually be worked out with Jackson.

John Harbaugh on Lamar Jackson: "I'm confident that'll happen when it's time. Lamar is going to be playing quarterback here for a long time. He and I talked about it yesterday, 'Hey man, let's go be our best and go focus on football.’ And that's what he's been doing all along."

— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) September 9, 2022

In the interest of bringing some drama to this discussion, let's say, hypothetically, the Ravens decide Jackson is being unreasonable with his demands and want to take advantage of his value on the market.

The Ravens could use the non-exclusive franchise tag on him that would allow Jackson to accept an offer sheet from another team, but the signing club would have to sacrifice two first-round draft picks if Baltimore decides not to match it.

If any player is going to get a team to sacrifice two first-round picks through the non-exclusive tag process, it's almost certainly going to be a quarterback. Jackson has been one of the league's best at the position when he's been healthy since entering the NFL in 2018.

A more likely result if the Ravens move on from Jackson would be similar to what happened with Davante Adams this offseason. The Green Bay Packers used the non-exclusive tag on the star wideout.

After Adams informed the Packers he wouldn't play on the tag and the two sides couldn't come to terms on a long-term deal, the 29-year-old was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders. He signed a five-year, $140 million deal with the Raiders.

If Jackson were to get traded, the acquiring club would presumably be willing to give him whatever he wanted for the certainty of having an elite quarterback under contract for several years.

Watson and Kirk Cousins are so far the only quarterbacks who have signed fully guaranteed contracts. In Cousins' case, he's signed three different deals with the Minnesota Vikings since 2018 for a combined total of $185 million over six years.

It can reasonably be argued that Jackson has been better than Watson and Cousins throughout their NFL careers; it's not out of the question he could parlay that success into a fully guaranteed $250 million contract from some team.

The salary cap figures to keep increasing every year because of how much television money the NFL will be making, so the cap hits on a fully guaranteed deal for a player of Jackson's talent shouldn't make it difficult to build an excellent roster around him.

Extensions for Burrow and Herbert seem much more simple to figure out. They will still have two years remaining on their rookie contracts after this season, assuming the fifth-year options get picked up next offseason.

Jackson is an outlier in the quarterback-extension discussion because most players who seemed like locks to get a new deal from their current team have done so as soon as they were eligible.

Patrick Mahomes signed his 10-year, $450 million deal with the Kansas City Chiefs in June 2020. Josh Allen, who was in the same 2018 draft class as Jackson, got a six-year, $258 million extension from the Buffalo Bills in Aug. 2021.

Based on how the market usually works, whichever one of Burrow or Herbert signs first will set the floor for the other one. Watson's deal with the Browns briefly made him the second-highest-paid quarterback by average annual salary at $46 million, behind Aaron Rodgers ($50.27 million).

Murray's extension with the Cardinals signed in July moved him ahead of Watson in average annual salary ($46.1 million). He was surpassed last week by Russell Wilson's new deal with the Denver Broncos ($48.5 million).

It stands to reason both Burrow and Herbert could hit $50 million per season. Anything less than five years and $250 million total, with at least $170 million guaranteed, for both young stars would be a bargain for the Bengals and Chargers.

Any concerns about Burrow coming off a torn ACL, MCL and additional damage to his PCL and meniscus that cut his rookie campaign short were completely washed away in 2021. The LSU alum led the league in completion percentage (70.4) and threw for 4,611 yards with 34 touchdowns in 16 starts to lead the Bengals to an AFC North title.

Herbert almost single-handedly got the Chargers in the playoffs with his Week 18 showing against the Las Vegas Raiders last season and has been the most prolific quarterback through his first two seasons in NFL history.

Justin Herbert's ranks among QBs in their first 2 seasons in NFL history

Rank
Pass TD 69 1st
Pass Yds 9,350 1st
Completions 839 1st pic.twitter.com/sdeM77jeYY

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 10, 2022

Burrow probably has more leverage than Herbert because the Bengals played in the Super Bowl seven months ago, but expectations are incredibly high for the Chargers in 2022 after their offseason moves.

Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark was sentenced to one year of probation and 40 hours of community service on Thursday after he pleaded no contest to two counts of misdemeanor possession of an assault weapon.

According to the Associated Press, he will need to show proof he completed the sentence when he returns to court in 2023.

The AP noted the sentencing stems from multiple incidents in 2021. The first came when he was arrested in March of that year when police recovered two loaded firearms when he was in a car that was pulled over because it didn't have a license plate.

The second one came three months later when police discovered a gun in his vehicle when he was pulled over for a code violation.

Clark has faced legal issues before and was dismissed from the Michigan football team in college following a 2014 domestic battery arrest. Jack Baer of Yahoo Sports noted he pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct.

What's more, he pleaded guilty to a felony home invasion charge when he admitted he stole a laptop.

Despite the legal issues, the Seattle Seahawks selected Clark with a second-round pick in the 2015 NFL draft. He played four seasons in Seattle and is entering his fourth campaign with the Chiefs in 2022.

Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson confirmed Thursday that the Seattle Seahawks tried to trade him multiple times before ultimately dealing the signal-caller in March.

"Definitely they tried to, a couple of times...tried to see what was out there,'' Wilson said Thursday before practice, according to ESPN's Jeff Legwold.

"It's part of the business, being a professional and everything else. ... I believe in my talents, of who I am. I feel I'm one of the best in the world."

Wilson, a nine-time Pro Bowler, played his first 10 NFL seasons with the Seahawks. He won the Super Bowl during his second NFL campaign in 2013.

ESPN's Brady Henderson did a deep dive into the drama behind the scenes that led to Seattle trading Wilson and a 2022 fourth-round pick for quarterback Drew Lock, defensive lineman Shelby Harris, tight end Noah Fant, the Broncos' first- and second-round picks in 2022 and 2023 plus a 2022 fifth-rounder.

Of note, Henderson revealed that the Seahawks tried to trade Wilson to the Cleveland Browns for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft.

Before that, general manager John Schneider had reportedly gone to Wyoming to check out eventual Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who was taken seventh overall in that draft. The year before, Schneider had visited Texas Tech for a look at future Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes.

That did not please the Wilson camp, which was reportedly "f--king pissed" due to those trips.

Things smoothed over enough for Wilson to sign a four-year, $140 million extension with the team in April 2019, and that included a no-trade clause.

But two years later, Wilson went public on the Dan Patrick Show about some frustrations he had with the team, including his desire to have more input on personnel and the team's consistent offensive line struggles.

In the aftermath of that interview, Henderson reported that Schneider and Wilson's agent, Mark Rodgers, "began discussing potential trade destinations and, according to sources on both sides, had a heated exchange about which teams would be in play."

Later in February, Rodgers told ESPN's Adam Schefter that Wilson, who hadn't requested a trade, would welcome a deal to the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, Las Vegas Raiders or Chicago Bears.

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll was against the idea of trading Wilson, but that reportedly changed after the 2021 campaign, when the coach and player started talking about a deal.

"That's when s--t got real," a source told Henderson.

Wilson soon found himself in Denver, where he'll look to lead a Broncos team with a promising future under new ownership and a first-year head coach in ex-Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.

As for the Seahawks, they're in rebuilding mode after getting rid of their franchise player as well as their defensive superstar in linebacker Bobby Wagner.

As Russell Wilson prepares to play in Seattle as a visitor for the first time, the Denver Broncos quarterback has nothing but love for the city where he spent his first 10 NFL seasons.

"Seattle was one of a kind," Wilson told reporters Thursday. "Ten years, I couldn't imagine those years not being in my life and how special they were and how many games we won and how many amazing thrillers, just the Super Bowl we won and everything else. ... Seattle will always mean the world to me. It'll always forever be home for me. It'll always be a special place in my heart."

#Broncos @DangeRussWilson said he “will forever have love in my heart for Seattle.” Not thinking about he will be received. #Denver7 pic.twitter.com/8tokygLyEx

— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) September 8, 2022

The Seahawks traded Wilson to Denver in March amid a simmering feud between the franchise quarterback and coach Pete Carroll. Most of the issues between Carroll and Wilson came down to philosophical differences, with the coach wanting a ground-and-pound approach while Wilson wanted to be allowed to cook.

Seattle is seemingly headed toward a retooling season, as the front office chose not to replace Wilson with another franchise quarterback. Carroll will open the 2022 season with Geno Smith as his starter and Drew Lock as the backup. Neither quarterback has shown the capability to be even an average NFL starter in their respective careers.

Wilson, meanwhile, leads a Broncos group that feels primed for a Super Bowl run—provided it's acquired the franchise quarterback of the past and not an inconsistent player amid his injuries last season.

Playing in the most difficult division in football, the Broncos will need to open up the 2022 season with a convincing win as they prepare for the AFC West gauntlet.

As far as Seahawks fans go, they should probably invest in the success of their past quarterback in what will likely be a disappointing campaign.

Darren Waller's hopes of getting a new contract from the Las Vegas Raiders could become a reality soon.

Per Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, talks between Waller and the Raiders are "progressing" with the goal of getting a deal done before their first game of the year against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

Waller signed with agents Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey last month after previously being represented by Klutch Sports.

"I plan on going to work on this right away," Rosenhaus told ESPN's Paul Gutierrez via text when asked about negotiating with the Raiders on Waller's behalf.

There were positive signs that a deal could be worked out when Vegas opened training camp. Waller showed up on time for the start of camp rather than holding out in an attempt to force a new deal.

Waller has two years and approximately $13 million remaining on his current deal, which was signed in October 2019.

Per The Athletic's Vic Tafur, Waller's remaining salary ranks 17th among all tight ends over the next two seasons.

George Kittle ($15 million), Travis Kelce ($14.3 million), Dallas Goedert ($14.25 million) and Mark Andrews ($14 million) will all earn more in 2022 than Waller will over the next two seasons combined, according to Tafur.

Since the start of 2019, Waller and Kelce are the only tight ends in the NFL with more than 1,000 yards in multiple seasons. The 29-year-old led the Raiders in receiving yards in 2019 and 2020.

With Josh McDaniels entering his first season as head coach, the Raiders have been spending aggressively to lock in their core players. They signed Davante Adams to the richest contract in NFL history for a wide receiver (five years, $141.25 million) after acquiring him from the Green Bay Packers.

Hunter Renfrow and Derek Carr signed extensions with Las Vegas, too.

Waller has emerged as one of the best tight ends in the NFL over the past three seasons. He was originally a sixth-round draft pick by the Baltimore Ravens in 2015 and spent the first three years of his career primarily as a backup.

The Raiders signed Waller off the Ravens' practice squad midway through the 2018 season. He has 355 targets, 252 receptions, 3,006 receiving yards and 14 receiving touchdowns since becoming a full-time starter in 2019.

It turns out Russell Wilson's trade to the Denver Broncos wasn't just about the quarterback's long-simmering issues with coach Pete Carroll.

The Seattle Seahawks also apparently believed they were selling high on a player about to hit his decline.

"So those two things," a source in the Seahawks' front office told Brady Henderson of ESPN. "A declining player and then what the ask was going to be the next time, which would have been his third time. It's like, 'No, let's play really good defense, let's run the s--t out of the ball. That's how we won a world championship.' That's what we've kept going back to."

Wilson is coming off a frustrating 2021 campaign that was largely hampered by a broken finger suffered in Week 5. He seemingly came back before he was 100 percent, missing only three games, but struggled with his accuracy before picking things up toward the end of the season.

The Seahawks were just 6-8 in Wilson's 14 starts, marking the first time in his career he'd ever finished below .500.

Much like when he was entering the draft, the overarching concern with Wilson remains his size. While he's been able to overcome his 5'10" stature for a decade with a combination of generational football IQ and mobility, it's fair to wonder if he'll be as effective once his ability to make plays out of the pocket diminishes.

"The 4.5 speed where he's scrambling and now he's running down the field for big chunks of yards, that might not come anymore," a Seahawks coach said. "But the feel for pocket presence, he's always going to have that. ... I have no reservation in saying that Russ is going to continue to compete with his style, and then as that begins to slow down a little bit, I think he'll adjust. That's just who he is. He finds a way to win."

The Seahawks appear destined to work through a rebuilding season after trading Wilson and choosing not to replace him with a high-level option. Geno Smith will start Week 1, and he'll be backed up by Drew Lock. Neither quarterback has shown the capability of even being an average NFL starter, let alone someone of Wilson's caliber.

The Broncos will have a tough slog in football's strongest division but envision themselves as a Super Bowl contender with Wilson under center. If the Seahawks are correct about selling high on their franchise quarterback, Denver might be disappointed in 2022.

Prior to getting traded to the Denver Broncos during the offseason, quarterback Russell Wilson reportedly took issue with some decisions made by the Seattle Seahawks front office.

According to ESPN's Brady Henderson, Wilson was particularly dismayed by the fact that the Seahawks checked in on quarterbacks ahead of the 2017 and 2018 NFL drafts.

Seahawks general manager John Schneider attended now-Kansas City Chiefs superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes' pro day in 2017 and reportedly would have taken him had he fallen to the latter stages of the first round.

The next year, Schneider was present for now-Buffalo Bills superstar signal-caller Josh Allen's pro day in Wyoming.

Per Henderson, a front-office source said Wilson was "f--king pissed" that Schneider went out of his way to scout potential franchise quarterbacks while he was still in the fold and playing at a high level.

Schneider reportedly reasoned that doing due diligence on top quarterbacks in the draft was a wise move, noting that the Green Bay Packers did the same during his time with the organization and ended up having Aaron Rodgers fall to them in 2005 despite already having Hall of Famer Brett Favre on the roster.

Rodgers sat behind Favre for the first three years of his career before taking over and becoming one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history in his own right.

Wilson is likely a first-ballot Hall of Famer thanks to his nine Pro Bowl selections, one Super Bowl ring and career record of 104-53-1 as a starter.

Despite being a third-round pick in 2012, Wilson won the starting job out of the gate and led the Seahawks to the greatest run of success in franchise history.

With Wilson at the helm, Seattle reached the playoffs eight times in 10 seasons and made it to the Super Bowl twice. If not for a miraculous goal-line interception by New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler, Wilson and the Seahawks would have won back-to-back Super Bowls in 2013 and 2014.

While Wilson has somewhat shockingly never received a single vote for NFL MVP, he has put up some huge numbers during his career, completing 65.0 percent of his passes for 37,059 yards, 292 touchdowns and 87 interceptions while also rushing for 4,689 yards and 23 scores.

The Seahawks may have already gotten the very best out of Wilson, but at 33 years of age, he may have plenty left in the tank.

An injury caused Wilson to miss the first three games of his career last season, but he seems refreshed and rejuvenated after joining a Broncos team that has huge aspirations despite missing the playoffs in each of the past six seasons.

Despite playing in arguably the NFL's toughest division, the Broncos figure to be playoff-bound and perhaps even Super Bowl contenders with Wilson.

The same can't be said for the Seahawks, who are expected by many to be one of the NFL's worst teams, as they are entering the 2022 campaign with journeyman Geno Smith as their starting quarterback.