AFC Notes: Justin Herbert, Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs

Broncos HC Sean Payton believes OG Ben Powers can be an anchor for the team's offensive line.

"The toughest group in these practices — the challenges are for the offensive and defensive linemen. The skill guys are in space, but it's hard when they’re competing for the same gap in a run play," Payton said, via Broncos Wire. "Back to Ben — [he is] all of the things you’re looking for. His skillset, he's strong, and he's smart. There are certain things you look for in an offensive lineman. He can anchor, and I think that's important. The significance of your guards — and we had a couple of really good guards throughout the years with Drew [Brees] — and the significance for Russell [Wilson], I think that's important. His makeup — I mean, he loves football. He certainly was a target and then he also comes from a place that's used to winning. That room has had probably the biggest turnover of any, and I think that’ll serve us well."

Chargers QB Justin Herbert and HC Brandon Staley recently provided an update on contract negotiations for the star quarterback, though neither had much to say. Staley said talks were "ongoing."

"They’ve done such a great job of taking care of us and my message really hasn't changed," Herbert added via ESPN's Lindsey Thiry. "It's been an honor to be a part of this team. It's great to come to events like this and whatever happens, happens and it's out of my control at this point."

Herbert dodged a question about whether he’d avoid playing in the fourth year of his deal without an extension. That’d be a worst-case scenario for either side and there's little extension talks are going poorly to the point where that's a serious possibility.

"That's a good question. I think that's something you have to address and you have to think about," Herbert said. "My job at this point is just to play quarterback and to be the best leader, quarterback and teammate that I can be. So I’m doing everything I can to rehab, get back and make sure my shoulder is ready for this season."

Herbert has been limited this offseason with a shoulder injury he picked up in Week 17 that required surgery. He mentioned he's starting to ramp back up.

"I feel a lot better," Herbert said. "The shoulder is holding up, been able to lift quite a bit more, conditioning, so picking up more, especially upper body-wise. So it has been tough. It's an unlike any other offseason for me, but you have to find a way to make it work."

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes said he's still in contact with OT Orlando Brown, who is now on the Bengals, and the two are still close friends.

"Yeah, it's tough," Mahomes said, via ProFootballTalk. "I still talk to Orlando. We had a friendship off the field just as much as on the field. You understand how great of a player he is. He makes Cincinnati an even better football team so that stinks for us but at the same time I’m happy for him that he got to a good place where he was able to get a good contract that he deserved and everything like that. We’ll still have that friendship, but he's a competitor like me, so we’re going to be wanting to be able to brag about who wins that football game."

Mahomes said he isn't concerned about being the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL

"No. No," said Mahomes, via NFL.com. "It's more of a, you just want to do whatever it, to not hurt other quarterbacks whenever their contracts come up. You want to kind of keep the bar pushing. It's not about being the highest-paid guy. It's not about making a ton of money. I’ve made enough money where I’ll be set for the rest of my life."

In the end, Mahomes doesn't want Kansas City to be hamstrung by his contract and still be able to surround him with a strong cast.

"At the same time, you gotta find that line where you’re making a good amount of money but you’re still keeping a lot of great players around you so you can win these Super Bowls and you’re able to compete in these games."

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