The Raiders, Chargers, and Broncos all used signature moves. Teams in the AFC West who wanted to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs had a lot on their plates in March 2022.
The Raiders strengthened their pass rush that fateful month by signing defensive end Chandler Jones, who had logged five consecutive seasons with double-digit sack totals over the previous six years.
To improve their pass rush, the Broncos went out and acquired defensive end Randy Gregory, who had six sacks in 11 starts last year.
After trading away star receiver Tyreek Hill, the whole nation watched in dismay as the Chiefs’ fortunes plummeted. In light of their defensive improvements, the Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders, and Denver Broncos were feeling pretty good about themselves.
To strengthen their secondary, the Chargers went out and signed cornerback J.C. Jackson, who had collected 22 interceptions in the previous three seasons.
J.C. Jackson A Chargers Free Agency Failed
Jackson has departed from the L.A. area. On Wednesday, the New England Patriots acquired him in a trade.
And we are looking to trade Gregory. If no club comes up with a late-round selection in exchange for him, the Broncos will release him on Thursday or Friday, according to coach Sean Payton.
On September 30, the Raiders released Jones because they were worried about his problematic behavior.
“We’ve got theists; we’ve got the best.” “We’ve got the best team we’ve got.” “We’ve got the best team we’ve ever had,” one of our reporters said. “We’ve”
The AFC West Keeps Chasing After the Chiefs
The three clubs in pursuit of the Chiefs paid a total of $203.5 million to acquire these three players. Their goal is to thwart Patrick Mahomes.
And they all came up short.
At the time, no one considered such a possibility. No one challenged the logic of the seeming sound movements.
The Chargers already had a solid secondary thanks to the play of Assante Samuel Jr. at cornerback, and the addition of Jackson would further strengthen it.
The Raiders thought their pass rush was strong with Maxx Crosby, but adding Jones would make them unstoppable on both the right and left sides.
Since the Broncos already had Bradley Chubb, they reasoned that adding Gregory would just increase the burden on both him and Chubb.
The decisions reflected poorly on the Chiefs, who had just seen their offense take a major hit.
But on Wednesday, we realized that rumors are often completely false.
Ultimate Chiefs Weapons: Mahomes and Reid
Also, with Mahomes and Reid at the helm, the Chiefs are well-protected against the schemes of their opponents in the division.
The Chiefs are 3-1 right now, but they are worried because Patrick Mahomes had a terrible game against the Jets, and his receiving group hasn’t been very productive.
Everyone seems to be freaking out right now.
No, not at all.
“We have a couple of young guys we’re kind of bringing along, but I think they’re doing a pretty good job,” Reid remarked on Wednesday, seemingly unconcerned.
Nobody has had a disproportionately high number of receptions since we’re always switching up who plays in there. Indeed, that is how things will always be. We’re rotating between six or seven people who can play since we have so many.
Against the Jets, Mahomes said, “I didn’t play very well,” since he threw two interceptions and underthrew a few passes.
“It’s officially football season, and the saying goes, “It’s never too early to start declaring it’s football season.
Three of Kansas City’s division opponents have recently released or traded high-priced defensive players, but it was they who did it. While the chiefs avoid the impulse to worry.
“You know,” Reid said, “we had 400 yards the week before, so somebody is getting open.”
Available Randy Gregory As A Trade
Last year, they were victorious in the Super Bowl. Jones, Gregory, and Jackson were the division’s key players. And the Dolphins accomplished this with Hill on their roster.
In the meantime, the chiefs kept making progress. Unaffected. Undeterred.
The Chiefs currently lead their division by one game over the Chargers, who seem to be their only real contender for a third straight division title.
I mean, what does this mean?
It’s a cautionary story about the NFL offseason, and it occurs every year. When high-profile athletes receive lucrative contracts, the world seems to turn upside down.
Unfortunately, by winter, we realized that much of the enthusiasm we had in the spring had dissipated.
