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Justin Houston’s injury opens AFC West up even more

By Carl Cockerham

Nov 15, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs outside linebacker Justin Houston (50) reacts to his sack of Denver Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler (not pictured) in the fourth quarter at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 15, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs outside linebacker Justin Houston (50) reacts to his sack of Denver Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler (not pictured) in the fourth quarter at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /
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The AFC West division is blowing wide open these days!

The Super Bowl Champion Denver Broncos lost a chunk from their great defense but still have enough to get some things done. They should have tried to get quarterback Peyton Manning to stay but they opted for Brock Osweiler, who opted for the Houston Texans. But they still have C.J. Anderson to run the back and play defense with left tackle Russell Okung to solidify the o-line.

So while their not out of it, the Broncos are no longer looked at as the prohibitive favorite to win the division. The Kansas City Chiefs were then supposed to be the incumbent team with the Broncos losing so many core players. But the Chiefs, while getting RB Jamaal Charles back for injury and improving their o-line, have some losses too.

Shut-down corner Sean Smith was already stolen by the Oakland Raiders in free agency. Now there are questions as to whether or not OLB Justin Houston will be available to start the season. Team trainer Rick Buckholder told Chiefs reporter B.J. Kissell Tuesday that Houston had his ACL “fixed” in February.

The word is the linebacker’s ACL wasn’t torn, but just wasn’t functioning properly. Terez Paylor, also a Chiefs writer, reported that according to Buckholder, Houston will take 6-12 months to recover. That puts the mercurial OLB back on the field in mid-August by the earliest and that’s being generous.

Houston is progressing well in rehab and is off crutches but he will still likely spend training camp on the PUP list, which would sideline him for the first six games of the season. That’s big in 2016 because the Raiders, the most improved team in the NFL so far this offseason, got LB Bruce Irvin to add to that defense along with Smith and OG Kelechi Osemeli for the offense.

And not to be slept on this year are the San Diego Chargers, who have their offensive line back healthy to go with QB Philip Rivers. Offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt is back to get something out of him and RB Melvin Gordon. That young defense they have over there improved a lot down the stretch last year for something to build on.

This division is wide open in 2016!

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