AFC Notes: Justin Herbert, Josh Simmons, Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs

Broncos

Broncos owner Greg Penner said the team has moved on from their mistake by giving QB Russell Wilson a massive contract, but doesn’t regret the philosophy.

“We’re not going to make excuses,” Penner said, via the Athletic’s Nick Kosmider. “Our job is to put the best football team on the field each season, no matter what the constraints are. You’re going to have obstacles that come up, whether they are injuries, something happens with a player, or financial restraints with the cap, but we’re not going to make excuses. We’re going to do everything we can to be competitive each year.”

Chargers

Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh said he envisions QB Justin Herbert being a Hall of Famer and wants to surround him with the right pieces.

“I just woke up the other day and said, I got to get Justin Herbert to the Hall of Fame. Must get Justin Herbert to the Hall of Fame,” Harbaugh told Rich Eisen. “That would mean winning a couple of Super Bowls. A lot of people would benefit. So that’s a worthy goal. And I think it’s necessary that we get him surrounded by as many different football players at his level as possible. Justin is all about the team. He’s not into any accolades himself. He would kick me in the shins if I said that to him. But that’s the challenge that I’m attacking. I wake up every day trying to be worthy to be his coach.”

Chiefs

Chiefs GM Brett Veach addressed why the team spent its first-round pick on LT Josh Simmons after signing OT Jaylon Moore to a multi-year deal.

“I mean, we’ve won a lot of games, and we’ve been fortunate to win some Super Bowls, too. But I think it’s the evolution of where you are with picking late in the draft and guys not becoming available, cap-based issues, and it’s one of those things where it would maybe be nice not to have to attack the left tackle issue year in and year out,” Veach said, via Chiefs Wire. “As soon as you start to solve that issue, you’re going to have a we don’t have an edge guy, or we don’t have a guard, or there’s, it’s always in a revolving door.”

Veach added that the team never wants to draft for need, so if they can continue finding quality players without having to sacrifice value for need, that’s what they’ll continue to do.

“That’s the beauty of this league, which makes it awesome. These teams and games are so close, and you win by the margins, so you’re always chasing something,” Veach said. “As soon as we get a great left tackle, we can try to find another one to replace them. That’s just the way it is, and so we’re just fortunate that it worked out today for us. We got to get really excited about it. There’s a lot of work ahead, but there’s a lot to work with.”

• Veach on the structure of Simmons’ knee: “We were saying early on this is a really good surgery, and the knee looks really good. He was well ahead of where he should be at that stage. There’s a strong belief from Rick (Burkholder) that he’ll be good for training camp.” (Jason Anderson)