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The round of 32 in the SportsNation vote to for the next "Madden" cover was not kind to the AFC West.

There are only 16 candidates remaining. San Diego tight end Antonio Gates is the division’s last representative.

Gates, a No. 8 seed, barely beat the Colts’ Dwight Freeney, a No. 9 seed. The AFC West’s last chance, though, will be a heavy underdog in the Sweet 16. Gates faces Carolina quarterback Cam Newton, a No. 1 seed. Voting goes through next Wednesday.

Every other AFC West candidate was sent packing. Even though he was traded to the Jets last week, Tim Tebow still represented the Broncos. The No. 14 seed was barely defeated by Houston running back Arian Foster, a No. 3 seed.

Kansas City receiver Dwayne Bowe, a No. 11 seed, was trounced by Detroit’s Calvin Johnson, a No. 6 seed. Jacksonville’s Maurice Jones-Drew, a No. 3 seed, beat Oakland kicker Sebastian Janikowski, a No. 14 seed.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the Chiefs have visited with defensive lineman Luis Castillo. He was just cut by the Chargers.

The Chiefs will likely add to the defensive line in free agency and I wouldn’t be shocked if they added Castillo for depth. He has been a solid starter, but has been injury prone. The Chargers would like to re-sign Castillo at a reduced price.

Meanwhile, ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting the Colts would be open to trading pass-rusher Dwight Freeney. The only possible fit in the AFC West is San Diego. The Chargers badly wants a pass-rusher and Freeney could be intriguing. They were interested in his teammate, Robert Mathis, before he re-signed with the Colts this week. If Freeney is fairly reasonably priced, I could see the Chargers showing interest.

In other AFC West news:

As expected, the Raiders announced quarterback Carson Palmer restructured his contract to help the team with its salary-cap situation.

The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that the Raiders aren’t expected to bring back free agents Jarvis Moss and Samson Satele. Moss is a bottom-of-the-roster type and the fact that Satele is not in the team’s plans could mean Stefen Wisniewski will play center. He was supposed to play there last year, but played guard instead and excelled there.

The Broncos are looking for a safety in free agency, but the pickings are slim.

The Chiefs have added Steven Smith as assistant offensive line coach. He was with Tennessee State last season.

Matt Williamson looks at the top 50 free agents available. KC Joyner looks at the best values in free agency and there is an AFC West flavor to it. Gary Horton of Scouts Inc. thinks San Diego receiver Vincent Jackson is the biggest free-agent risk available. Still, I think plenty of teams will line up to take that risk.

Yahoo Sports is reporting Tennessee free-agent cornerback Cortland Finnegan is recruiting Jackson to go to the same team he does. The report speculates that team may be Tampa Bay. St. Louis could also be a possibility.

Dwight Freeney, star pass rusher for the Indianapolis Colts, can’t wait to get his hands on Denver rookie quarterback Tim Tebow. I’m sure Freeney isn’t the only defender who is looking forward to introducing Tebow to the NFL.

Few players have come into the NFL with the hype that Tebow has. I’m sure many veterans are tired of hearing about him and they want to see what the big deal is. The Colts visit the Broncos on Sept. 26. Perhaps Freeney will get a chance to get his hands on Tebow out of the Wildcat formation. If so, it should be fun to watch unfold.

• I love the attitude of San Diego first-round pick Ryan Mathews. He vows not to hold out. This kid seems to get it. Nothing good comes out of holding out. It seems Mathews realizes how much the Chargers are relying on him and he is looking forward to starting his challenge.

• It’s stadium talk time in Oakland and in San Diego. Expect this chatter to heat up. Both the Raiders and the Chargers need new digs badly.

After spending a week at the Pro Bowl in February 2006, the Denver Broncos' coaching staff returned to the Rocky Mountains with more than a late-winter Honolulu tan.

They came back with a plan to solve their pass-rush issues: Go small.

Mike Shanahan's staff was given a Hawaiian consolation prize for losing the AFC Championship Game to the Pittsburgh Steelers to end their 2005 season. The staff made the best out of the situation. Defensive coordinator Larry Coyer and Shanahan were smitten by Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney. The pair was amazed at how Freeney was such a dominant force as a pass-rusher despite being a smaller player. Freeney is listed as 6-foot-1, 268 pounds. He's probably smaller, though.

With Freeney serving an inspiration, the Broncos' staff became more open-minded about finding a pass-rusher. Then, studying prospects for the upcoming draft, the Broncos became smitten again.

Elvis entered the building.

The Broncos drafted Elvis Dumervil out of Louisville in the fourth round. A prolific sack master in high school and college, Dumervil was shunned by most teams because of his small stature. Dumervil is listed as 5-foot-11 and 248 pounds. However, that 5-11 claim should be investigated. He doesn't appear to be a shade over 5-10.

Still, the Broncos were not deterred.

“We think he could be another Freeney,” Coyer said then. Ironically, Coyer is now Freeney's defensive coordinator in Indianapolis.

So, if Coyer's quarterback, Peyton Manning, becomes another name on Dumervil's long list of sack victims Sunday when the 8-4 Broncos visit the 12-0 Colts, it will be partly Coyer's fault.

Dumervil, drafted in the same round as Denver star receiver Brandon Marshall, has been a major reason for the Broncos' success in the first year of the coach Josh McDaniels era.

Dumervil leads the NFL with 15 sacks. He needs one more sack to tie Simon Fletcher for the Denver season record of 16 sacks, which Fletcher set in 1992. Dumervil is on pace for 20 sacks. Only seven players have registered at least 20 sacks in a season since the NFL began to recognize the sack as an official statistic in 1982. Dumervil is eight sacks from breaking Michael Strahan's season sack record of 22.5 set in the 2001 season.

“ 'Doom' " is amazing,” said Denver linebacker Andra Davis, calling his teammate by his nickname. “God has blessed him with an incredible ability to sack the quarterback.”

While breaking the record this season might be a long shot, Dumervil has thrived against long odds.

“He's a guy you root for but then you ask yourself how he'd fit in the defense,” Gary Horton of Scouts Inc. said. “But he is just a natural pass-rusher. He may be small, but he engages. He knows how to use his pads and get leverage. He plays much bigger than he actually is.”

Dumervil showed sparks of becoming a high quality NFL pass-rusher in his first three NFL seasons. He had 26 sacks in three seasons entering this one, including 12.5 in 2007. However, Dumervil is having his best season, Horton believes, because he is playing the position that best suits him.

When McDaniels took over the Broncos in January, he hired former San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan to be the defensive coordinator and to run a 3-4 defense. Dumervil was a situational defensive end in the 4-3 for the past three seasons in Denver.

Now, though, he is an outside linebacker in the 3-4. Dumervil is an every-down player. When he isn't rushing, he darts back into coverage.

“He's a rugged player,” Horton said. “He can play every down.”

Dumervil, 25, said he feels at home in the new scheme. Despite his size, Dumervil said he knows he belongs on the field at all times. Speaking as if he were well aware of the pun, Dumervil said he prides himself on being on the field for “big-boy downs.”

“I'm still learning this defense and I think I have a long way to go,” Dumervil said. “But it fits me. I'm comfortable with this defense.”

While he is on the cusp of becoming an NFL household name because of his huge sack numbers this season, Dumervil said he is not overly enamored with collecting sacks. He enjoys getting sacks, but he enjoys the process better.

Dumervil had 78 sacks in high school. He set the NCAA single-game sack record with six and broke former Syracuse star Freeney's Big East single-season sack total as a senior. Now that's he is on pace to become part of the elite 20-sack club, Dumervil isn't going to stray from the process.

“I just enjoy playing well and the fact that I'm getting the opportunity to get to the quarterback,” Dumervil said. “Our defense is doing well (Denver's defense is ranked third in the NFL overall and second against the pass). That's what is satisfying. If I had all these sacks and we were ranked 30th, it wouldn't mean much. But I'm excited that my sacks are helping this team win. That's why I'm here.”

It all began with a trip to the beach.