AFC West

Veteran defensive lineman Derek Wolfe announced his retirement from the NFL on Friday at age 32.

Wolfe made it official with a video posted on the Denver Broncos' official Twitter account:

“After 🔟 seasons in the NFL, I’ve decided it’s time to step away from the game. Time for a new beginning.” #ThankYouDWolfe x @Derek_Wolfe95 pic.twitter.com/qeCyOrKLw7

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) July 29, 2022

Wolfe's first eight NFL seasons were spent with the Broncos before he signed with the Baltimore Ravens ahead of the 2020 campaign. After playing for Baltimore in 2020, a hip injury kept him out for the entire 2021 season.

Denver selected Wolfe with the No. 36 overall pick in the second round of the 2012 NFL draft out of the University of Cincinnati.

He was instantly an important piece of the Broncos defense, starting all 16 games as a rookie and remaining a starter throughout his tenure.

Wolfe was one of the best rookie defenders in the NFL, finishing with 40 tackles, nine tackles of loss and six sacks, the latter of which was a career high until he recorded seven sacks in his final season with the Broncos in 2019.

His biggest accomplishment came during the 2015 season when he helped the Broncos win Super Bowl 50 over the Carolina Panthers.

Wolfe started three games during that playoff run and racked up 15 tackles and 2.5 sacks for a defense that essentially carried Denver to victory.

Overall, Wolfe started 116 of the 122 regular-season games he played in during his career and finished with 350 tackles, 52 tackles for loss, 34 sacks and one interception.

Wolfe's versatility and ability to play all over the defensive line made him a supremely valuable player for the Broncos, and his presence is a big reason they reached the playoffs in each of his first four seasons.

The only thing that held Wolfe back was a history of injuries, as he missed time because of injury in six of the nine NFL seasons he played in.

When healthy, Wolfe was a productive and important player, even if he didn't receive the same level of credit as other Broncos defensive stars of the time, such as Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware.

The Denver Broncos and quarterback Russell Wilson reportedly haven't entered formal negotiations about a contract extension despite confirmation from both sides they're hoping for a long-term partnership following his arrival from the Seattle Seahawks.

Jeff Howe of The Athletic reported Friday the "general acknowledgment" of interest from both Wilson and the Broncos is the extent of the situation so far, though the discussions could heat up after the team's ownership change is approved, which is expected in August.

"We want him here a long time," Broncos general manager George Paton said. "We didn't give up all we gave up for him to be here for two years, that's for sure. Any contract talks with any of our players, we just keep in-house."

Wilson added: "I'm excited to be here for a long time, and I think that will definitely happen so we'll see where it goes."

The nine-time Pro Bowl selection is under contract through 2023 as part of a four-year, $140 million deal he signed with Seattle.

Denver posted a 7-10 record last season despite having the NFL's eighth-ranked defense (326.1 yards allowed per game) and a rushing attack that was tied for seventh in yards per carry (4.5).

The team's passing game simply didn't deliver enough game-changing plays to supplement those strengths as Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock, who was sent to the Hawks in the Wilson trade, combined to throw just 20 touchdowns in 17 games.

That's why the Broncos made an all-in move to acquire Wilson in March, giving up Lock, tight end Noah Fant, defensive end Shelby Harris and five draft picks, including a pair of first-rounders.

Wilson should have MVP potential as he throws to a group of pass-catchers that includes Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy and Tim Patrick.

If the aerial attack sees the expected boost and the other phases remain as strong as they were in 2021, the Broncos could emerge as a Super Bowl contender.

Meanwhile, the contract situation isn't overly time-sensitive since the 33-year-old has two full seasons left on his previous deal.

Quarterback deals have exploded since the Ohio native signed the contract with Seattle. Its average value ($35 million) has dropped to ninth at the position, per Spotrac.

Based on that trend, the Broncos would probably be wise to work toward an extension in the near future since the contract values are only going to continue rising.

That said, the main focus right now is trying to make the playoffs for the first time since winning a Super Bowl in 2015, when the offense was led by Peyton Manning.

Denver opens the regular season Sept. 12 with a Monday Night Football road trip to face Wilson's old team, the Seahawks.

The Kansas City Chiefs and two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Carlos Dunlap reached an agreement Thursday on a one-year contract worth up to $8 million ahead of the 2022 NFL season.

Drew Rosenhaus, Dunlap's agent, confirmed the signing with ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Dunlap spent the past season and a half with the Seattle Seahawks after beginning his career with a decade-plus stint as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals, who selected him in the second round of the 2010 draft.

The 33-year-old South Carolina native has recorded 539 total tackles, 96 sacks, 69 passes defended, 21 forced fumbles and two interceptions across 180 regular-season appearances.

His all-around production has dipped in recent years, but he's remained a productive edge-rusher with 13.5 sacks in 25 games after joining the Seahawks midway through the 2020 campaign.

Dunlap is coming off an 8.5-sack season in 2021 that saw him receive a middling 72.1 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.

In December, the University of Florida product discussed becoming more of a situational pass-rusher at this stage of his career. He played 38 percent of the defensive snaps for Seattle in 2021 after regularly checking in over 70 percent during his time in Cincinnati.

"This is new for me in my career," Dunlap told reporters. "But the coaches have communicated this is the role they want for me and would like for me, so I just took advantage and I focused in on seizing those opportunities."

He added it's easier to make a more consistent impact with a heavier workload, though.

"I'm used to playing over 60 percent of the snaps my whole career and I have a consecutive streak of being healthy, so I'd like to keep doing that because I feel like as a rhythm rusher it's easiest to get going when you have more opportunities," Dunlap said.

He's likely ticketed for a role where he'll split playing time with rookie George Karlaftis after his free-agent move to the Chiefs. He joins an edge-rushing group led by Chris Jones and Frank Clark.

Dunlap should provide a boost to the Kansas City pass rush in 2022 as he attempts to reach the 100-sack career milestone and the 2019 champions chase another Super Bowl title.

Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs affirmed his desire to remain in Sin City long term as he enters the final year of his contract.

"I'm a firm believer in the work that you put in is going to pay out for itself, and I had to be here either way," he said, per ESPN's Paul Gutierrez. "And this is where I want to be. I didn't have no problem with it. It just gave me more of a reason to come in every day, gel with the guys and work."

The Raiders declined Jacobs' fifth-year option in his rookie deal, which paves the way for him to become a free agent in 2023.

The Raiders hired a new general manager (Dave Ziegler) and a new head coach (Josh McDaniels) this offseason.

Neither may feel all that invested in Jacobs since they weren't responsible for selecting him in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft. That may, however, give him a clean slate after his performance stagnated across 2020 and 2021.

As a rookie, Jacobs ran for 1,150 yards and seven touchdowns in 13 games while averaging 4.8 yards per carry. Although he made the Pro Bowl the following year, his yards per game (71.0) and yards per carry (3.9) both declined. It was more of the same in 2021 as the 5'10", 220-pound ball-carrier finished with 872 yards and nine touchdowns in 15 games.

Having the Raiders turn down his option provides an obvious incentive for the 24-year-old to have a big season. The question is whether he'll have the opportunity to properly showcase his skills.

Las Vegas signed Davante Adams to what was briefly a record-setting five-year, $140 million contract and gave Hunter Renfrow a two-year, $32.3 million extension to fortify its receiving corps. That's in addition to the three-year, $121.5 million extension Derek Carr signed.

The Raiders figure to have a pass-heavy offense, thus potentially leaving Jacobs on the periphery.

The offensive line may not be much better, either, with Pro Football Focus' Michael Renner ranking the unit the 29th in the NFL. When he does get the ball, Jacobs could face tough sledding.

As much as he wants to stay in Las Vegas right now, a change of scenery could prove beneficial depending on how the upcoming campaign plays out.

Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce is reportedly getting a raise in salary for the 2022 season.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Kelce and the Chiefs agreed to an adjusted contract Wednesday that will see $3 million "moved from the back of the deal to properly compensate" him.

The #Chiefs moved $3M forward from the back of Travis Kelce’s contract, giving him a raise for 2022, source said. https://t.co/MltYWFTZoB

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 27, 2022

Per Spotrac, Kelce signed a four-year, $57.25 million contract extension with the Chiefs in 2020 that included $22.75 million in guaranteed money.

The 32-year-old Kelce has been the NFL's premier tight end for the past several seasons, building a strong Hall of Fame-worthy resume along the way.

Kelce has been named to the Pro Bowl in each of the past seven seasons, and the nine-year pro is a three-time first-team All-Pro to boot.

Perhaps most impressively, Kelce has eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark six seasons in a row, making him the first tight end in NFL history to accomplish that feat.

The one-time Super Bowl champion was as good as ever last season, finishing with 92 receptions for 1,125 yards and nine touchdowns in 16 games for a Chiefs team that won the AFC West and reached the AFC Championship Game.

Kelce was dominant during the playoffs as well, racking up 23 grabs for 299 yards and three touchdowns in three games.

While Kelce has long been a key to the success of quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs as a whole, he may be even more integral in 2022 following Kansas City's decision to trade wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins.

Kelce and Hill had been 1A and 1B in terms of Mahomes' favorite targets, but now there is no debate that Kelce will be the go-to guy.

Wide receiver Mecole Hardman is returning, plus the Chiefs signed wideouts JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling in free agency, but none of them come close to matching the impact Kelce has on an offense.

KC's AFC West rivals in the Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders all got significantly better this offseason, leading to some questions regarding whether the Chiefs can maintain their spot atop the division.

If they are going to do so, they will likely need Kelce to enjoy one of his best seasons yet in 2022.

Kansas City Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire has been placed on the physically unable to perform list, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

The extent of the 23-year-old's injury is unclear.

Edwards-Helaire dealt with injuries throughout last season. He missed five games from Week 6-10 with a sprained MCL.

A shoulder injury kept him out of the final two games of the regular season and the AFC Wild Card Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

There's no indication that the Chiefs missed the LSU product when he didn't play, though. They racked up 290 rushing yards over their final two regular-season games, and Jerick McKinnon had 142 yards from scrimmage on 18 touches in the 42-21 win over the Steelers.

A first-round pick by the Chiefs in the 2020 NFL draft, Edwards-Helaire hasn't lived up to his potential thus far. He did have 1,100 yards from scrimmage and five total touchdowns as a rookie, but he didn't have more than 79 rushing yards in each of his final nine games.

Edwards-Helaire had back-to-back 100-yard rushing games in Weeks 3 and 4 of the 2021 season, but he only had 226 total rushing yards in six games after that.

Kansas City has such an explosive offense with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback that running the ball isn't a requisite for the team to have success.

Ronald Jones will fill in as the lead running back until Edwards-Helaire is able to return. McKinnon, Derrick Gore and Isiah Pacheco should also get touches for the offense.

Russell Wilson might be a nine-time Pro Bowler, but the Denver Broncos star doesn't come without some baggage in the view of one NFL general manager.

"The difference with Russell is, he is a lot more high-maintenance," the GM said to Mike Sando of The Athletic. "He’s got the entourage, he needs the office at the facility, the extra hotel rooms on the road, all that stuff. It will be interesting how that dynamic works with a rookie head coach and rookie offensive coordinator, how they jell."

There are plenty of reasons why the Seattle Seahawks could justify trading Wilson.

Perhaps his four-year, $140 million contract became too cumbersome and limited the team's ability to improve the rest of the roster. The 33-year-old just posted the lowest QBR (54.7) and fewest passing yards (3,113) of his career, per Pro Football Reference. Head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider might want to reorient the offense around the running game.

Equally plausible among the justifications is that the Seahawks simply grew tired of the entire Russell Wilson experience.

In September 2018, Sports Illustrated's Greg Bishop and Robert Klemko reported how the franchise's treatment of Wilson was rubbing others on the team the wrong way. One former member of the team thought Carroll believed the star signal-caller "too emotionally fragile to handle" the kind of criticism dished out to teammates.

It wasn't the first time those concerns had been expressed.

Sando and colleagues Michael-Shawn Dugar and Jayson Jenks provided more insight into the Seahawks' internal drama, with Wilson front and center, in February 2021

Carroll "protected and enabled Wilson, undermining the two words he had built his whole program on: Always compete." Wilson, meanwhile, became frustrated when he felt he wasn't able to wield the kind of influence befitting a player of his status.

As much as the team's relationship with Wilson became strained, Seattle still made the playoffs in eight of his 10 years under center. If he can help lift the Broncos in the postseason, they'll be more than willing to make whatever off-field concessions are required.

One defensive coordinator believes he found the one glaring flaw in Patrick Mahomes' game.

The coordinator told The Athletic's Mike Sando, as part of Sando's NFL quarterback rankings, the Kansas City Chiefs star can struggle when he has to look off his first read:

We love Mahomes because of his unorthodox throws, not because of his natural pocket presence. And when that disappears, that is when they lose games. I don’t think that is a 1. I think that is a 2. Nothing against the guy. I love the kid. But take his first read away and what does he do? He runs, he scrambles and he plays streetball.

Early into the 2021 season, it looked like NFL defenses were finally beginning to neutralize Mahmoes a bit. Through seven games, the Chiefs were 3-4, and their starting quarterback had thrown for 2,093 yards, 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Twelve had been his previous high for interceptions in a single season.

Kansas City proceeded to win nine of its final 10 games, and Mahomes looked more like the passer who won an MVP in 2018. During that stretch, he had 2,746 passing yards and 19 touchdowns to four interceptions.

Blanketing Mahomes' first read and flushing him from the pocket is obviously one way to make life difficult for him, but his propensity to play "streetball" is one thing that sets him apart from so many of his peers.

The 26-year-old is so good when throwing at the move, and he can release the ball from so many different angles. Just when you think you've removed all of his options, he finds a window.

St. Patrick's Day 🍀
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— NFL (@NFL) March 17, 2022

Mahomes will have to adjust to life without Tyreek Hill in 2022, and he might compensate by improvising even more in the pocket.

Still, one defensive play-caller who said Mahomes is not "the greatest at diagnosing" conceded it may not matter all that much.

"If you’re a matchup-oriented team and you lose one of your top matchup guys like that, it is going to affect how you play," the coach said to Sando. "Maybe he has to adapt a little bit, but I think he has all the makeup to do it.”

For the past several years, the Kansas City Chiefs have reigned supreme in the AFC West. Dating back to 2016, they have won the division six straight times. Each of the past four years have featured the Chiefs hosting the AFC Championship Game, and two included trips to the Super Bowl.

However, that run of dominance is in real jeopardy in 2022. While the rest of the teams in the division spent the offseason adding impact players at a dizzying pace, a lack of cap space prevented the Chiefs from making any major moves.

In fact, the biggest move Kansas City made in the offseason involved one of the team's best players, Tyreek Hill, leaving town. And as if major questions at wide receiver and defense weren't bad enough, the team's best offensive lineman is unhappy about his contract situation and not expected to report to training camp.

The key word for the 2022 Chiefs as camp opens is uncertainty—so much uncertainty that Kansas City's divisional dominance could be derailed.

That disgruntled offensive lineman is left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., who the Chiefs acquired from the Baltimore Ravens via trade last year. The Chiefs applied the franchise tag to Brown in March, and the July 15 deadline for the team to sign Brown to a long-term deal came and went without an agreement.

Per Pete Grathoff of the Kansas City Star, while appearing on NFL Now, the NFL Network’s Jeffri Chadiha reported that the team wasn't happy with how negotiations with Brown unfolded.

“There was frustration and there was disappointment. They really like Orlando Brown Jr., they love having him be a part of this team, but the money he was asking for was too high for them. They feel like they don’t want to not have stability at left tackle here, but they also don’t want to pay top-of-the-market money for a player that they don’t think is the best player at his position in the NFL.

"One front office person said, 'This isn’t the same guy that we traded for.' The feeling there is that when they got him from Baltimore is that he was going to be a team player and work with them on a team-friendly type of deal. That was not the case. Right now we’re looking at a situation where Orlando Brown probably won’t be there for training camp and may not be there for Week 1.”

While speaking to reporters at OTAs, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes expressed optimism that Brown would eventually re-join the team:

"I talk to Orlando all the time. Me and him have a great relationship. Obviously, we wanted to get the deal done. I'm sure he wanted to get the deal done, everything like that. But at the end of the day, we're gonna go out there and play football and I'm excited for him to be here and be a part of the team again."

However, head coach Andy Reid admitted that Brown might not be out there when Kansas City's veteran players report July 26:

"I don't know whether he's going to be here or not. If he's here, great. And if he's not, we move on. That's how we've done it in the past. This isn't the first time I've been through something like this. My thing is, we just go. Whoever the next guy is that's gonna step in there—we know Joe Thuney can do it in a heartbeat—so, if we need to go in that direction, we can go in that direction. We've got some new faces in there that can also do it."

That Reid would express a "next man up" philosophy is understandable. And the reality is that Brown doesn't have much in the way of leverage—his options are to play in 2022 under the $16.7 million franchise tag or sit out and forfeit almost $1 million for every game missed.

But if Brown digs in and misses regular-season action, his absence won't be easily shrugged off. Thuney is a capable veteran guard, but he's just that—a guard. He hasn't spent any real time at tackle since college. Reserve tackle Geron Christian started eight games for the Houston Texans in 2021, but he's not close to the caliber of player Brown is.

One of the Chiefs' strengths is an offensive line that Pro Football Focus ranked ninth in the league this year. But that's with Brown on the field. Remove him from the equation, and the line is average.

It's just one more potential issue for a team that was already staring at a few.

While appearing on Good Morning Football last week, Chiefs wideout Mecole Hardman said he thinks the team's new-look receiving corps will shine in 2022.

"[Losing] a guy like Tyreek [Hill] with a lot of targets, I think it's a lot of targets to go around," he said, per Kevin Patra of NFL.com. "Obviously, we've got a good group of guys, receivers-wise, so it's definitely going to be a good year to come up a little bit and just have fun with it and just take advantage of the opportunity."

But after trading Hill to the Miami Dolphins, every wide receiver on Kansas City's roster combined has exactly one 1,000-yard season—JuJu Smith-Schuster in 2018. Last year, Smith-Schuster had just 15 catches over five games before he suffered a shoulder injury that ended his regular season.

Fellow free-agent addition Marquez Valdes-Scantling has never had 40 catches or 700 receiving yards in a season. Hardman's best season was last year, when he caught 59 passes for 693 yards.

Yes, the Chiefs still have the NFL's best tight end in Travis Kelce. But until one of those wideouts shows he can be a consistent threat, Kelce will receive all kinds of attention from opposing defenses.

The defense has issues as well. The Chiefs were 27th in the league against the pass in 2021, allowing 251.4 yards per game. Kansas City's secondary lost cornerback Charvarius Ward and safety Tyrann Mathieu in free agency, and while the team added replacements in Trent McDuffie and Justin Reid, the former is a rookie and the latter is a clear downgrade from Mathieu.

That revamped secondary will likely be tested with regularity in 2022—only three teams logged fewer sacks in 2021 than the Chiefs.

What exacerbates these issues is that while the Chiefs took a step back (on paper) this offseason, every other team in the AFC West leaped forward.

The Raiders made big-time acquisitions on both sides of the ball, signing edge-rusher Chandler Jones and trading for wide receiver Davante Adams. The Los Angeles Chargers should be vastly improved on defense after adding edge-rusher Khalil Mack and cornerback J.C. Jackson. The Denver Broncos made the biggest splash of all, trading for quarterback Russell Wilson.

The gap between the Chiefs and the rest of the AFC West hasn't just shrunk. It has evaporated.

Now, this doesn't mean that the Chiefs are doomed. Teams don't win half a dozen consecutive division titles by accident, and any team led by Mahomes will be dangerous.

But the days of the Chiefs being head-and-shoulders better than everyone in the division appear to be over. Whether it's the pass-catching corps, the defensive backfield or potentially the offensive line, there's much more uncertainty in Kansas City in 2022.

And at some point, one of these problems will become one problem too many.