Ron Bartell out 4-6 Weeks, and Other AFC West News

The Raiders will be without the services of No. 1 cornerback Ron Bartell for 4-6 weeks and wide receiver Jacoby Ford for a significant period of time. Depth was always going to be an issue with the 2012 Raiders, but Bartell’s injury was one the Raiders had hoped to afford with Atlanta, Denver and Pittsburgh on the schedule over the next month.

ESPN’s Bill Williamson reports that Bartell has a broken shoulder blade and will meet with a specialist to get more information. There is hope he could be back in as little as four weeks per the report.

It’s a significant blow to an already thin Oakland secondary. Pat Lee will start at cornerback in Bartell’s place. Lee performed well in relief of Bartell on Monday night, but he will be tested by the pass-centric offenses in the NFL.

The Raiders get a reprieve in Week 2 with a trip to Miami to face the Dolphins and rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill before they take on a gauntlet of quality quarterbacks in Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning and Matt Ryan from Week 3 to Week 6.

The recently signed Joselio Hanson and Philip Adams are the only other two cornerbacks on the roster besides starter Shawntae Spencer. Not only do they still need to learn the defense, but they aren’t good options on the outside if the Raiders were to sustain another injury.

Hanson is primarily suited to cover smaller, quicker wide receivers in the slot and Adams has played in just 23 games since he entered the league in 2010, with most coming on special teams. The horrible New England Patriots secondary used Adams for five games last season before turning to other options.

The Raiders will likely have to resort to using free safety Michael Huff as a cornerback like they did in 2011. Huff has played primarily slot cornerback as well, but he has the size and skill set to play outside. Matt Giordano would play free safety in that scenario like he has in nickel situations.

Among the other options would be for the Raiders to elevate Chimdi Chekwa from the practice squad or look for a free agent, but if Bartell can make it back in four weeks, the Raiders will likely use what they have on the active roster.

Oakland Raiders

CSN Bay Area reports that long snapper Jon Condo’s concussion has the Raiders scrambling.

According to his tweet, the Raiders are bringing in rookie long snapper Travis Tripucka.

San Diego

Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that cornerback Quentin Jammer had surgery and plans to play Sunday in a cast.

Scott Bair of the North County Times reports that the Chargers have signed veteran guard/tackle Reggie Wells for depth.

Broncos

According Broncos.com, cornerback Tracy Porter was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week.

Jeff Legwold of the Denver Post says the no-huddle offense can’t exclude the threat of the run.

Chiefs

The Chiefs announced they have waived outside linebacker Cameron Sheffield.

Adam Teicher of the Kansas City Star says that the Chiefs’ toolbox is short of fixes for the struggling defense.