NFC Notes: Bears, Giants, Panthers

Bears

• Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times offers a projection for who’s likely to make the Bears’ 53-man roster and who will be competing for roster spots this summer.
• Some of the notable bubble players, according to Finley, include WR Josh Bellamy, OL Bradley Sowell, OL Earl Watford, NT John Jenkins, CB Bryce Callahan, CB Sherrick McManis, CB Cre’Von LeBlanc, and CB Marcus Cooper.
• Regarding former first-round WR Kevin White, Finley mentions that his $2.69 million is guaranteed salary, making his roster spot seem safe.

Giants

Former Giants HC Ben McAdoo writes in Peter King‘s “Football Morning in America” column that he’s “at peace” with how he handled the benching of QB Eli Manning last year.

“I learned there’s no easy way to make the truly tough decisions. Right or wrong, I am at peace with how I handled the decision to play quarterbacks other than Eli Manning down the stretch of last season,” McAdoo writes. “At the time, we were 2-9, beat up, and I told Eli we wanted to see the other quarterbacks on the roster—including our promising rookie, Davis Webb. I was not ending Eli’s career with the Giants; I was making sure we knew what we had behind him with a high draft choice prior to a big quarterback draft. I gave him the option to start the games to keep his streak alive. I understand why he said no, and he was a true pro about it. My bedside manner hurt me that week. I’m working on that. I do think it was special how his former teammates and the fans rallied around him that week. But if there’s one thing I want fans of the Giants to know, it’s that I made this call to try to make the Giants stronger for the future. It probably got me fired, but I believe I did the right thing for the right reasons.”

Panthers

• Jourdan Rodrigue of the Charlotte Observer writes that it appears as though C.J. Anderson will “take the lead in the traditional running back role” for the Panthers this season.
• Rodrigue predicts Christian McCaffrey’s carries won’t go up by much, but he’ll have 900 receiving yards this season.
• Rodrigue can see Elijah Hood beating out Cameron Artis-Payne for a roster spot this summer and Kenjon Barner making the team.