Bears
The Bears brought in OLB Robert Quinn last year and gave him $30 million guaranteed with the hopes of getting a legitimate pass-rushing threat across from Khalil Mack. Instead, they got a career-worst season out of Quinn with just two sacks. His contract ensured his spot on the team in 2021, so both Quinn and the Bears are focused on making this year different.
“I guess I might’ve just been hard on myself, because I’ve got high expectations,” he said via the Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain. “I might’ve just beaten myself down mentally. But at the end of the day, I can erase 2020 — well, put it behind me — because it’s done and over with. Now I’m going to look forward to this year and come in with a better, positive mindset, a little more energetic, happy mindset and try to give the Bears and my teammates and everyone the best version of myself as a person and player, and hopefully they get what they’re looking for.”
- Bears second-year WR Darnell Mooney said he wants to become a “known name” around the league: “I want to be dominant. I want to be a known name.” (Jeff Dickerson)
Lions
Lions RB DeAndre Swift said he has improved a lot between his first and second year.
“I’m smarter on the field. My knowledge of football,” Swift said, via Lions.com. “My overall strength. I feel explosive. My speed. My overall body strength.”
- The Detroit Lions hosted veteran G Evan Boehm for a visit on Thursday, per Aaron Wilson.
- Chris Burke notes that Lions’ CB Mike Ford is taking first-team reps at slot cornerback and has also rotated to the outside, which combined with his special teams talent will make him hard to leave off the 53-man roster.
Packers
The Packers didn’t have the benefit of a preseason last year to develop QB Jordan Love because of the pandemic, so they plan to take full advantage of the preseason’s return this year and give him extensive snaps throughout.
“You can never have enough reps, especially as a young quarterback,” Packers HC Matt LaFleur said via NFL Media’s Stacey Dales. “We’re really excited about the fact that we have preseason games this year, so he’s going to get a majority of the reps throughout the course of the preseason. I really love his attitude and how he’s attacked this whole thing and his approach. (He’s) focusing on himself each and every day and I think he has progressed. The relationship that he and Aaron have is really, really strong and it’s great to come out here and watch Aaron coaching him up on specific mechanics and whatnot. So, it really is a great quarterback room.”
- Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer doesn’t think it’s out of the question that the Packers and QB Aaron Rodgers patch things up and the quarterback stays beyond this season.
- Packers HC Matt LaFleur said backup QB Jordan Love will get the “majority” of preseason reps. (Wes Hodkiewicz)
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