Broncos
Broncos HC Sean Payton talked about the team signing DL Malcolm Roach to a contract extension and how he and GM George Paton have placed an emphasis on retaining homegrown talent.
“When we left for the bye, [general manager] George [Paton] and I talked,” Payton said, via Broncos Wire. “There were a handful of opportunities to at least visit with these guys. Speaking on Malcolm, his versatility and there are a lot of things — his flexibility position-wise and all the other things he brings to the team, it was a good fit.”
Chiefs
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is still planning on making the playoffs and wants the team to win its remaining five games in order to do so.
“You’ve got to win every game now — and hope that’s enough,” Mahomes said, via Nate Taylor of ESPN. “We’re going to play a lot of good teams coming up. If we’re going to make the playoffs, we’re going to have to win them all. That’s got to be the mindset when we step into the [training facility] when we get back.”
“We can beat anybody, but we’ve shown that we can lose to anybody,” Mahomes continued. “We’ve got to be more consistent. We’ve had big plays and we’ve had runs where we can really score at any time, but we’ve got to be consistent for four quarters, especially when you play good teams and they have a good offense.”
“The bottom line is we’re having too many penalties, and we’ve got to make sure we take care of that,” Chiefs HC Andy Reid added. “No excuses with it. We’ll work on cleaning it up. The guys know. They understand we’ve got to clean up a few things. We’ve got to do better as coaches. We’ve got to do better as players. You go back to the drawing board and you keep working.”
- Jeremy Fowler reports S Bryan Cook avoided a high-ankle sprain, and the team is still awaiting more info on the injury.
- Chiefs CB Trent McDuffie was fined $11,593 for facemask, and OL Kingsley Suamataia was fined $8,108 for a blindside block.
Raiders
Raiders QB Geno Smith went viral after their loss to the Browns in Week 12, where he appeared to make an obscene gesture to some fans in Vegas. Smith apologized for his actions and vowed to keep better composure in those situations in the future.
“I would like to apologize to the fans [and] Raider Nation,” Smith said, via ESPN’s Ryan McFadden. “I made a poor judgment out of frustration. And that’s not an excuse. I’ve got to be better than that and hold myself to a higher standard. In that moment, I didn’t. I’m sincerely apologetic and very sorry for doing that.
“I just want to make it known that those things will never happen from me again.”
- Dianna Russini reports that minority owner Tom Brady advocated for former OC Chip Kelly to run the offense and has shared his disappointment regarding the team with those close to him.
The post AFC Notes: Patrick Mahomes, Geno Smith, Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders appeared first on NFLTradeRumors.co.