Bears
Bears CB Jaylon Johnson signed a four-year, $110 million contract extension last year but said during a recent media appearance that he wants to discuss another contract extension with the team as more corners sign big deals around the league.
“Just seeing a lot of the other corners getting paid — I almost feel like we might have another discussion coming up here soon,” Johnson said on The Rich Eisen Show . “The market is moving, the market is moving. As long as I just keep being myself, keep playing at a high level, definitely going to have to be some more conversations coming up soon and really keep it long term. So, I’m looking forward to that.”
Lions
Lions RB David Montgomery said he’s entering the season with a chip on his shoulder and wants to remind everyone that he’s still a premier running back.
“This is probably the hungriest I’ve been (entering a season),” Montgomery said, via the team’s website . “I feel like a lot of people kind of forget I’m here in the offense too. I’m not here to prove anyone wrong. I’m here to prove myself right and be the best teammate I can be, but I definitely have a big chip on my shoulder.”
Lions HC Dan Campbell said the team will still place a premium on the ground game and will utilize both Montgomery and RB Jahmyr Gibbs extensively.
“I think we’ve got a real good vision of where I see it going and where we want it to go and what we believe in,” Campbell said regarding the offense. “Man, the ground game is important, it’ll always be important.”
Vikings
Despite not playing a down of his rookie season due to a torn meniscus, Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy watched and learned from the sidelines under the tutelage of HC Kevin O’Connell . This led to McCarthy showing he was capable of taking the reins as the starter heading into training camp.
“I just wanted to give him a platform with me,” O’Connell told ESPN’s Kevin Seifert . “Maybe it was football one day. Maybe it was no football. My time is very hard to find during the season, but I just wanted to make sure that we got together. The one thing I learned about him in those meetings is he had great questions, and that validated that he was receiving and getting something out of that time. And as I’ve told him, it doesn’t really guarantee you anything, but once you’re fighting the fight on a daily basis of growing within the system, he would be able to rely on some of what we did together.”
“It was making sure that I knew all the ins and outs and all the busy work on the front end,” McCarthy said. “When I had the time for it. So [this year] I don’t have to spend too much time on things that aren’t going to show up in the biggest way and just really making sure I can be efficient with my prepping and my game-plan studying. Getting on the same page with O’Connell has been awesome. Last season, seeing how he calls the games and everything like that, as well as the intricate personality traits of the guys on the team — and him being able to feed those that help strengthen the overall group and help strengthen them individually — and be there for them when some things aren’t going their way.”
Vikings QB coach Josh McCown has the experience and the knowledge to help McCarthy along the way.
“It’s not just about listening and learning,” McCown noted. “But can you process that information and give it back to me? I think that’s huge because you’re trying to manufacture as many ways as you can to keep his mind around football, processing football, how to attack an opponent, how to think about things. And that’s what I told him. I was like, ‘You got to take this time to prepare like you’re the guy and figure out the things that you like and don’t like about that preparation process that’s going to help you get to where you need to go once you’re in that seat someday.’ It’s like going to the driving range. It’s where you get to practice all your clubs. There’s kind of no consequence, so to speak, and you really learn different types of throws that you can make in different windows. Sometimes the defensive coaches are asking you to throw it to this player, so I’d better cut this ball loose early. I better anticipate. So that hones your anticipation skills. And that’s the hardest thing that you don’t necessarily get to replace, just not being on the field.”
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