Turnover in the NFL happens frequently; whether it's a player being released, traded, signed, or just deciding it's time to hang up the cleats. This week, the AFC West has seen a little bit of each occur. It might be the offseason, but there's still plenty of action taking place throughout the division. The Oakland Raiders have been active in free agency, as they've signed wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson, tight end Jared Cook, and offensive lineman Marshall Newhouse, but they aren't the only ones who have been involved in the free agent market.
Let's take a closer look at what's gone down in the AFC West over the past week.
Denver Broncos
Peyton Manning is one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game of football, and last year the Broncos – along with the rest of the league – bid farewell to a legend, DeMarcus Ware. Following Manning's own farewell, the team said goodbye to its head coach in 2017 with the departure of Gary Kubiak, who helped Manning accomplish a Super Bowl victory in his final season.
If you haven't picked up on it yet, a major theme with the Broncos over the past year has been the retiring of key components in their organization, and earlier this week, Ware decided that he too would be joining Manning and Kubiak in civilian life.
Ware has had an illustrious career; he's appeared in 178 games, totaled 505 tackles, tallied 138.5 sacks, and forced 35 fumbles. The Super Bowl champion will leave behind an incredible legacy, and will go down as one of the greatest pass rushers to ever take the field.
After Ware announced his retirement, some members of the Raiders took to Twitter to congratulate the 12-year veteran on an impressive career.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs scored 42 total touchdowns in 2016, and two of them came from nose tackle Dontari Poe. Head Coach Andy Reid is notorious for getting tricky with his play calling, and he utilized the 6-foot-3, 346 pound defensive lineman to his advantage, on both sides of the ball.
Unfortunately for the Chiefs, Poe will not be returning in 2017 after the Atlanta Falcons agreed to terms on a deal with the former University of Memphis Tiger. Prior to Poe's departure, the Chiefs signed defensive tackle Bennie Logan after he spent the past four seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. The LSU-product has posted 164 tackles during his career, to go along with 27 tackles for loss.
Los Angeles Chargers
While the Raiders and Chiefs continue to add talent to their rosters, the Bolts appear to be parting ways with their tackle King Dunlap. He originally joined the Chargers back in 2013, and served as the primary left tackle for the team the past four seasons.
On the defensive side of the ball, the team will apparently bring back nose tackle Damion Square, according to Chargers.com. Square will suit up for the Chargers the next two seasons and serve as their anchor in the middle of the defensive line.
