Broncos
- Chris Tomasson reports that Broncos LB Dre Greenlaw will be out with a quad injury but not for long, with a chance that he could play in Week 2.
- Broncos HC Sean Payton said Monday that Greenlaw should be back soon: “You’re going to see him sooner than later.” (Mike Klis)
- Broncos LB Nik Bonitto signed a four-year extension worth a new-money average of $26.5 million per year, giving the five-year deal a total average of $22.269 million per year when including the $4.5346 million he was already due in 2025.
- The contract includes a $22 million signing bonus with $17.6 million paid within 30 days and the balance by March 31, 2026; a fully guaranteed $1.1 million base salary in 2025; a fully guaranteed $14.031 million option bonus and a fully guaranteed $1.215 million base salary in 2026; a $24.49 million base salary in 2027 that is guaranteed for injury at signing and becomes fully guaranteed in March 2026, plus $510,000 in per-game active roster bonuses; a $20.99 million base salary in 2028 with $7.164 million guaranteed for injury that becomes fully guaranteed in March 2027, along with $510,000 in per-game roster bonuses; and a $25.99 million base salary in 2029 with another $510,000 in per-game roster bonuses — with escalators tied to sacks, All-Pro recognition, playoffs, and leading the league in sacks that can increase his 2027 salary by $2 million, his 2028 salary by $6.4 million, and his 2029 salary by $4.1 million, plus an additional $375,000 raise in the year following any season from 2025 through 2028 in which he wins NFL Defensive Player of the Year, while his guarantees total $38.346 million at signing, increase to $62.836 million by 2026, and reach a maximum of $70 million in 2027. (Pro Football Talk)
Chargers
Chargers QB Justin Herbert started the 2025 season with a bang, carving up the Chiefs’ defense in a big-time Week 1 win in Brazil. Herbert finished the game with a 73.5 completion percentage, 315 yards and three touchdowns to no interceptions.
“It’s MVP level,” Chargers OC Greg Roman said via Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. “It really is. That’s a big-time game and he played about as good as you can. … Patrick Mahomes goes down the field and answers, and Justin Herbert comes out, right back at ya, and oh by the way you’re not getting the ball back at the end.”
Roman was referring to Herbert’s game-clinching scramble on a third and long when he picked up 19 of his 32 rushing yards on the day. The Chargers and Herbert clearly want to get his legs more involved this year to help him take his game to another level.
“Last year, when he got his feet involved, great things happened,” Roman said. “We scored a lot of points and won those games—Denver, Cincinnati. And showing a lot of cutups of it, and just talking through it: ‘Oh, look at what Josh Allen just did, look at what Mahomes just did.’ It’s making him aware. It’s not a mandate. It’s as we continue to just be the winningest group we can be on offense, that’s something that we just need to get more out of him.”
Raiders
Raiders QB Geno Smith set a franchise record with 362 passing yards in his team debut. Smith has the utmost confidence in his abilities and loves the style of football they played in their win over the Patriots.
“I’m me. That’s all I think about. I don’t think about anything else; I’m me,” Smith said, via Levi Edwards of the team’s website. “I know who I am, I know what I can do.”
“That’s how we want to play football. We want to make sure that we make the right reads. I want to make sure that I’m making the right decisions and getting the ball into the hands of the playmakers. We’ve got a lot of great players and that’s something that we can take advantage of. I want to spread the ball around if need be but I want to find the open guy, first and foremost.”
Raiders HC Pete Carroll doesn’t think Smith did anything out of the ordinary in Week 1, and even believes his quarterback can play better.
“He’s been doing this now. Geno had a regular game today,” Carroll said. “I don’t think it was a big statement game or anything like that. I just think that’s what he does. And we’ll do better than that. He’s got it in him to do better than that.”
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