Chargers
Chargers OL Zion Johnson has spent his first three seasons at guard, but HC Jim Harbaugh indicated they are “really excited” to see him at center.
“Zion, we’re really excited to see him at center and have that versatility, too,” Harbaugh said, via Eric Smith of the team’s site. “I just can’t wait to get started. That’s an exciting piece. I can’t wait to have at it and see exactly what transpires there.”
Harbaugh reiterated that Johnson has the versatility to succeed in a new position.
“He’s a football player. He’s got the versatility to do it,” Harbaugh said. “You don’t count people out just because they haven’t done something. Doesn’t mean that they can’t. I never say, ‘Can’t.’”
Harbaugh added they are enamored with the versatility of other interior linemen like Andre James, Bradley Bozeman, and Trey Pipkins.
“We haven’t started yet, we start in April,” Harbaugh said. “But we’ve got we have so much versatility now with the inside players. Guys that can play guard, guys that can play center.”
Chiefs
Chiefs DL Felix Anudike-Uzomah recently appeared as a guest on the Up & Adams Show and shared his memories of attending the Super Bowl parade in 2020 as a fan of the team before they wound up drafting him in the first round back in 2023.
“It’s different; I’ve been through the Matt Cassel days. I’ve been through the one (year) when we beat the Green Bay Packers, and it was just like, this amazing thing,” Anudike-Uzomah said. “I remember everybody was celebrating, even throughout the streets. I was there in 2020 when Pat (Mahomes) won that Super Bowl. It was crazy. Because I remember, I was a kid in the streets going throughout the parade, and we went out through Power and Light. We were all getting lit after they won the Super Bowl.”
“It was crazy. My friends nowadays, they’re just like, there’s no way we really are just with you at the Chiefs parade in 2020, and now you’re with the Chiefs,” Anudike-Uzomah added. “So it’s a dream come true for sure. Grew up with the Chiefs my whole life. Even my mom suffered a little bit just for me to get those Chiefs tickets, to tour around the stadium, and stuff like that. So even just to see that stuff, how things change, it’s a dream for sure, and now I’m living it.”
Raiders
Raiders QB Geno Smith said that he confided in HC Pete Carroll throughout the season last year during the low points.
“I would call him whenever I got frustrated,” Smith said, via SI’s Albert Breer. “He talked me through things, and he still coached me. And I think that’s what makes him such a special man, is that he was coaching me even when he wasn’t my head coach. A lot of the things that he was telling me, a lot of conversations we had really kept me steady throughout the season, and kept my head on straight. Because, again, man, this is a team that I gave everything I had to …”
Smith is excited to get to work with OC Chip Kelly, who has orchestrated great offenses in the past.
“He not just coached Jeremiah, but that entire offense,” Smith said. “They had two 1,000-yard runners, they had two 1,000-yard receivers. I mean, they were very, very balanced. They lost two of the best O-linemen in the country and went out and won the natty. Watching that team and how he developed [quarterback] Will Howard, and how he got better throughout the season, you see it. … So seeing that firsthand, and all the schematic things that they’re trying to do to gain advantages, and now he’s bringing new wrinkles, up into the NFL game? He’s done this before and he’s doing it again, and I just think it’s gonna be a great thing.”
Raiders minority owner Tom Brady called Smith as soon as the trade was being processed. He explained how he loved that Smith had mastered the mental aspect of the game late in his 30s.
“I’ve always really been hard on myself about being able to play the game without using all the physical attributes,” Smith says. “And from watching my tape, that’s something that he noticed, how I handle protections and can get in and out of plays. We ran a very intricate system [last year]. It was our first year in the system, but we didn’t hold back on anything. And I think that’s something that he recognized, he noticed…Stuff from the neck up, decision making, leadership, just all those things are the things that Tom talked to me about reasons why they wanted me.”
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