AFC West

The Seattle Seahawks reportedly offered quarterback Russell Wilson to the Cleveland Browns as part of a proposed trade for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft.

ESPN's Brady Henderson reported Wednesday the Browns "weren't interested" in the idea but it led Wilson's agent, Mark Rodgers, to secure a no-trade clause in the QB's next contract that gave him greater control over his future.

Wilson was ultimately traded to the Denver Broncos in March, ending a 10-year tenure with the Seahawks.

The quarterback's growing frustration in Seattle became evident when he went on a media tour surrounding the Super Bowl in February 2021 where he aired his grievances.

Now it appears his stay with the Seahawks nearly ended three years before that if the Browns would have been willing to put the top draft pick on the table.

Of course, Cleveland opted to stay put and selected Baker Mayfield, who failed to establish himself as a franchise quarterback across four seasons before getting dealt to the Carolina Panthers in July.

His trade came after the Browns rebuilt their quarterback room with Deshaun Watson, Jacoby Brissett and Joshua Dobbs over the offseason.

It's always interesting to analyze the trickle-down effect of moves that weren't made. If Wilson lands with the Browns, do the Seahawks take Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen or Josh Rosen with the No. 1 pick? It's an obvious choice now, but back then it was a debate.

Meanwhile, Cleveland wouldn't have been in the market for a quarterback this offseason, which would have shaken up the QB trade market.

It worked out fine for Wilson, however, as he lands within a Broncos offense featuring no shortage of playmakers in the talent-laden AFC West.

Fittingly, his time with Denver begins with a road trip to face the Seahawks in Week 1.

"Obviously, Seattle's meant the world to me over the past 10 years," Wilson told reporters in May. "It's a special place. It's a special place to play, Lumen Field. I have high regard for all those guys over there and what they do."

Although his run with the Hawks didn't end on a high note, he enjoyed plenty of success during his decade with the franchise, including nine Pro Bowl selections and the Super Bowl XLVIII title.

He should receive a hero's welcome on Monday night.

Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson became the latest signal-caller to sign a massive contract extension this offseason Thursday, and he's looking to make his new team a "destination location," per James Palmer of NFL Network.

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Wilson inked a five-year, $245 million contract extension ($165 million guaranteed) that in essence ties him to Denver for seven years and $296 million.

It's a new era in Denver, which is now under new ownership after the Walton-Penner group bought the team. Greg Penner has taken over as CEO, and this extension served as the first major move under the new leadership.

George Paton remains in place as the general manager after taking over last year. Nathaniel Hackett is now the team's head coach after taking over for Vic Fangio.

Adding a nine-time Pro Bowler and a Super Bowl champion in Wilson certainly signals change in Denver, which hasn't made the playoffs since the 2015 Super Bowl-winning season.

That year capped four fruitful seasons under Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning, and ESPN analyst Marcus Spears said the extension solidifies the team being in "Peyton Manning mode" now.

The Broncos went 50-14 under Manning, including four AFC West titles and two AFC Championships. Denver went 8-8 the year before Manning's arrival, and he then led the team to its most fruitful run since the end of the John Elway era.

Denver certainly hopes the Wilson era can lead to similar success. Pieces are in place right now for the team to succeed, including wideouts Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton, running back Javonte Williams and a reigning No. 3 scoring defense led by safety Justin Simmons.

The Broncos could very well be a destination for potential free agents if they can make strides this year under Wilson, who appears as though he's quickly changing the culture for the better in Denver.

Josh Gordon didn't have to wait long to find a new home after being released by the Kansas City Chiefs on Tuesday.

Gordon's agent, Zac Hiller, told ESPN's Adam Schefter that the former Pro Bowl wide receiver will sign with the Tennessee Titans' practice squad.

The Chiefs signed Gordon to their practice squad last September after the NFL reinstated him following an indefinite suspension eight months earlier for violating terms of his conditional reinstatement.

Kansas City promoted Gordon to the active roster prior to a Week 5 game against the Buffalo Bills. The 31-year-old appeared in 12 games during the regular season, recording 32 yards and one touchdown on five catches. He didn't play in the postseason.

Gordon has been suspended by the NFL six times since 2013 for violations of the league's policies on substance abuse and performance-enhancing drugs.

The Titans will be the fifth team Gordon has played for after being selected by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the 2012 supplemental draft. The Baylor alum was fantastic in his first two seasons, including leading the NFL in receiving yards (1,646) in 2013.

But Gordon missed the 2015 and 2016 seasons because of suspensions, and the Browns traded him to the New England Patriots early in the 2018 season. He spent parts of two seasons with the Patriots before being waived in October 2019. The Seattle Seahawks claimed the former All-Pro, and he appeared in five games with them before being suspended indefinitely.

Gordon re-signed with the Seahawks as a free agent in 2020 while he was still suspended. The NFL conditionally reinstated him with two weeks remaining in the regular season, but he broke the terms of the reinstatement one day later.

Tennessee could present Gordon with an opportunity to make the active roster when he gets acclimated to the playbook. Robert Woods, Treylon Burks and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine are the top three wideouts heading into the regular season.

Gordon comes with a high level of volatility, but he's a low-risk option as far as financial cost for the Titans as they look for help in their receiver room.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Len Dawson has died at the age of 87.

The Dawson family issued a statement Wednesday announcing that Len died with his wife, Linda, at his side:

A family friend confirmed to Vahe Gregorian of the Kansas City Star on Aug. 12 that Dawson had been entered into hospice care.

Linda Dawson told KMBC 9 News in Kansas City that the family was asking for privacy and prayers.

During his playing career, Dawson became sports director for KMBC 9 News in 1966. He stepped down from nightly duties in 2009.

A three-year starter at Purdue University from 1954 to 1956, Dawson threw for 3,325 yards and 29 touchdowns on 452 attempts.

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Dawson with the No. 5 overall pick in the 1957 NFL draft. He spent the first five years of his career primarily as a backup before getting an opportunity as a starter in 1962 with the Dallas Texans.

In 14 starts for the Texans, Dawson led the league with 29 touchdown passes and was named AFL MVP. The Texans defeated the Houston Oilers 20-17 to win the AFL championship.

The franchise moved to Kansas City and was renamed the Chiefs before the 1963 season. Dawson spent most of the next 13 years as the team's starting quarterback. He led the league in completion percentage every year from 1964 to 1969 and quarterback rating from 1964 to 1968.

Dawson and the Chiefs won the AFL Conference Championship in 1966 but lost to the Green Bay Packers in the first Super Bowl. They won the franchise's first Super Bowl during the 1969 season with a 23-7 win over the Minnesota Vikings. Dawson was named MVP of the game after going 12-of-17 for 142 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

After starting five games during the 1975 season, Dawson retired from the NFL at the age of 40. He is still the franchise's all-time leader in passing yards (28,507), touchdown passes (237), completions (2,115) and attempts (3,696).

Dawson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987. He has also been enshrined in the Chiefs Hall of Fame and Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame. The Ohio native received the Walter Camp Distinguished American Award, awarded annually to individuals who attain great success in business, private life or public service, in 2008.

To say it was a wild offseason in the AFC West is the mother of all understatements. In an effort to dethrone the six-time reigning division champion Kansas City Chiefs, the other three teams all went buck wild adding impact players.

For the Los Angeles Chargers, it meant overhauling the defense with the addition of edge-rusher Khalil Mack and cornerback J.C. Jackson. The Denver Broncos added a Super Bowl champion quarterback in Russell Wilson. And the Las Vegas Raiders added big names on both sides of the ball by signing edge-rusher Chandler Jones and trading for superstar wide receiver Davante Adams.

That those additions improved a Raiders team that made the postseason in 2021 goes without saying. But amid all the hype from those additions, there's something else that isn't being said. While the Raiders have more than a few strengths, there are also weaknesses on both sides of the ball. Potentially glaring weaknesses.

The kinds of weaknesses that could ruin the team's chances of winning what may well be the toughest division in the NFL.

The Raiders weren't exactly hurting for skill-position talent on offense even before Adams came to town. Wide receiver Hunter Renfrow caught 103 passes, topped 1,000 yards and scored nine touchdowns in a breakout 2021 campaign. As recently as two years ago, tight end Darren Waller caught 107 passes for almost 1,200 yards. Running back Josh Jacobs eclipsed 1,200 total yards last season. And now the team has an "alpha" receiver in Adams.

That's quite a bit of firepower for quarterback Derek Carr, who was fifth in the league with 4,804 passing yards in 2021. He was also fifth in the league in completion percentage last season. He's one of the more underrated veteran starters at his position in the league.

But all that firepower will be of little help to Carr if he's constantly running for his life. Last year, he was sacked 40 times—tied for fifth-most. Heading into 2022, Pro Football Focus ranked the Raiders offensive line as the fourth-worst in the league.

If the preseason has been any indication, that ranking may have been too generous.

While speaking to reporters this week, Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels admitted that line was a work in progress.

"It's too early to sit here and try to say where it's at. But there's multiple guys in there that are competing. They know that; they all know it. We're going to try to play the best 11 guys on every snap. It's the right thing to do. It's the best thing for the team. If we keep putting the best 11 out there regardless of how young, old, whatever, it doesn't matter about that—if we put the best 11 out there, I think everybody respects the fact that we're trying to win, so everybody's going to get opportunities.

"There's a lot of competition. I think it makes them all better. They've embraced it, which is really what we want from our team, and we look forward to letting it play out on the field. They'll determine it."

Simply put, the right side of the offensive line in Las Vegas is a disaster. 2021 first-round pick Alex Leatherwood was a mess at both guard and tackle as a rookie, allowing eight sacks and committing a whopping 14 penalties. Brandon Parker was no better in Leatherwood's stead, allowing eight sacks of his own.

Now, Parker is hurt and likely won't be ready for Week 1. So is rookie seventh-rounder Thayer Munford. Leatherwood was moved back to tackle out of necessity and was a turnstile in the Raiders' last preseason game. Even if the Raiders add a tackle between now and Week 1, it's hard to envision a scenario where the right side of the line isn't a major problem in 2022. And it's not just a pass-protection issue, as the Raiders ranked 28th in rushing in 2021.

Jacobs is a capable back, but he can't create long gains from thin air when multiple defenders are in the backfield with him on a regular basis.

Defensively, pairing Jones with Maxx Crosby gives the Raiders one of the league's better one-two punches on the edge. Inside linebacker Denzel Perryman had far and away the best season of his career in 2021. And when he's healthy, Johnathan Abram is one of the NFL's hardest-hitting safeties.

But just like on offense, there's a problem. The Raiders cornerbacks are a major question mark.

Last year, the Raiders were a middle-of-the-pack pass defense, ranking 13th in the NFL at 222.9 passing yards per game allowed. However, the leader of that position group from last year is gone after veteran Casey Hayward departed in free agency.

The Raiders took steps to address Hayward's departure, adding Rock Ya-Sin via trade and signing Anthony Averett away from the Baltimore Ravens. Per Vic Tafur of The Athletic, Carr lauded the new additions to the secondary.

"They are super competitive," Carr said. "They are challenging me to make really tight throws, some tighter throws than some games. … And sometimes obviously with the talent that we have, they get beat here and there on certain things. But that's not a knock, it's definitely not a knock on them. But I've been really impressed with all our secondary and the covering skills that they've had. I'm excited to watch them work. Again, it's a process, but they are doing some really good things."

Ya-Sin is a decent young player, but he hasn't started more than eight games in a season since his rookie year. Holdover Trayvon Mullen missed 12 games and has allowed over 62 percent of the passes thrown in his direction the past two years to be completed. Nate Hobbs' completion percentage against in 2021 was over 82 percent.

This isn't to say the Raiders have the worst cornerback room in the league. They don't. But the team lost its most proven option at the position in the offseason. There may be some good here, but there isn't great. And in a division that includes two games each against Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert and Russell Wilson, "good" may not be good enough.

This doesn't necessarily mean the Raiders are doomed to a last-place finish in the division. Or that the team will absolutely miss the playoffs. Maybe they will find some way to cobble together a competent right side of the offensive line. Maybe some of the Raiders' young corners will take a big step forward in 2022.

But the AFC West in 2022 has the makings of a division where teams are going to have to win some shootouts. Games where protecting the quarterback and slowing down an opponent's passing attack will be absolute musts.

The Raiders don't appear especially well-equipped to do either.

There's no maybe about that.

Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. apparently isn't happy with his rating in Madden NFL 23, and he has enlisted his family to plead his case.

James posted a video Friday in which he calls on his mother and grandmother to reach out to the game's rating adjusters, and he included the contact number:

James has an overall rating of 93, which is second among strong safeties behind New Orleans Saints star Tyrann Mathieu. While James is unhappy with his rating, he's surely comforted by the reported four-year, $76.4 million contract extension he received earlier this week. The deal has an average annual value of $19.1 million and makes him the highest-paid safety in NFL history.

Madden NFL 23 was released Friday.

Practice. We're talking about practice.

Derwin James signed a massive four-year, $76.4 million contract extension on Wednesday that made him the highest-paid safety in the NFL. But according to his agent, David Mulugheta, James was more excited about returning to practice than he was about the payday:

The 26-year-old James had reported to training camp while he negotiated an extension with the Chargers but had been a "hold-in," participating in some individual drills but missing 14 practices.

Clearly, he missed being on the practice field with his teammates. No surprise from the player who Chargers head coach Brandon Staley described as a "our signal-caller and the heartbeat of our defense."

Staley isn't worried about James missing those practices, either, telling reporters, "there is no one that has more pride in his performance and his ability to be in shape, mentally and physically, to do the job at the highest level than him."

Derwin James Jr. became the highest-paid safety in NFL history by agreeing to a four-year, $76.4 million contract extension with the Los Angeles Chargers on Wednesday.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the financial details of the agreement. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network noted the deal includes $42 million in guaranteed money, which is also a new record for the position.

Here's a look at some instant reactions to the lucrative extension:

Chargers Eliminate "Hold-In" Concerns

James was part of an emerging trend this offseason of players opting to "hold in"—showing up for training camp but not taking part in practices while waiting for a new contract.

While missing some camp sessions and a preseason game he may not have played in wasn't a big deal, concerns were beginning to mount about whether the sides would be able to finalize an extension before the regular season.

Now those worries can fade away and the Chargers will have one of their foundational pieces on the field when they battle the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1 on Sept. 11.

James is coming off a 2021 campaign where he registered 118 total tackles, five passes defended, two interceptions and two sacks across 15 appearances. He received a solid 78.1 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.

L.A. is a popular pick to become this year's breakout team after narrowly missing the playoffs with a 9-8 record last season.

A core that includes James, quarterback Justin Herbert, running back Austin Ekeler, wide receiver Keenan Allen, cornerback J.C. Jackson and edge-rushers Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack gives the roster several championship-level building blocks.

James' Injury History Represents Risk

James has established himself as one of the NFL's top safeties when healthy, earning a pair of Pro Bowl appearances and two First Team All-Pro selections, but injuries have been an issue.

The 26-year-old Florida State product was limited to five games in 2019 with a foot injury and missed the entire 2020 season with a torn meniscus.

He returned to play 15 of the Bolts' 17 games in 2021, and he showed no sign the injuries from the previous years would hamper his play moving forward.

The bottom line remains James must stay healthy if the Chargers are going to receive maximum value from the record-setting contract, though.

Before camp started in July, he told ESPN's Lindsey Thiry he was ready to roll for 2022.

"This is the best I've felt in the last four years," James said. "And I can't wait to go."

That's great news for the Chargers' defense.

Bengals' Jessie Bates III, Bills' Jordan Poyer Up Next

Now that James has reset the safety market, the focus shifts to other high-profile players are the position seeking new deals.

Bates has taken the more traditional route of holding out while trying to work out an extension. The Bengals placed the franchise tag on him in March.

Poyer, who's entering the final year of his contract, arrived at Bills camp on time after skipping voluntary offseason practices, but he's since been sidelined by an elbow injury.

"I want to be here," Poyer told reporters in July. "That's how I feel—I want to be here. I'm going to continue to be a leader for this team and continue to do what I can help this team win football games."

Despite their differing approaches to the situation, both Bates and Poyer should benefit from James' new deal. It could also help bridge the gap between the sides by providing the groundwork for what an extension may look like.

How long James' tenure as the highest-paid safety will last is a mystery, but getting a deal done with a couple of weeks for him to get back up to full speed before the season gets underway is a victory for all parties involved.

You might want to wait before buying low on Los Angeles Chargers rookie Isaiah Spiller.

The Athletic's Daniel Popper wrote Tuesday the team is "pleased with Spiller's development" but that Joshua Kelley continues to see the most reps on the practice field:

Kelley was the first running back to catch a pass in seven-on-seven. He was the first running back on the field in the opening 11-on-11 period. He got the second carry, behind Ekeler, in the second 11-on-11 period, taking a pitch up the middle on a second down. And Kelley carried out of shotgun on the opening rep of the red zone 11-on-11 period.

Spiller ran for 2,993 yards and 25 touchdowns and caught 74 passes for 585 yards and one score in three seasons at Texas A&M.

Given Kelley's unspectacular production through two years (642 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in 24 games), Spiller looked like an intriguing fantasy football target in the latter stages of the draft.

But that's incumbent upon the 21-year-old being the backup to Austin Ekeler. Should Kelley lock down that job, fantasy managers will have to adjust accordingly.