NFC Notes: Ben Johnson, Caleb Williams, Bears, Lions, Packers

Bears

Bears HC Matt Eberflus recalled QB Caleb Williams throwing an interception to LB Tremaine Edmunds in practice, saying it was a learnable moment for the rookie. 

“(Edmunds) is a big guy in the middle, and that’s an imposing figure in there, like the Chicago Bears have had in the past,” Eberflus said, via Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic. “And I think that’s an important part of it. He’s probably going to play most of his opponents and be like, ‘Wow, that (middle linebacker’s) not very big.’ So he’s going to be like that. But yeah, balls that are thrown late over the middle, they’re usually put in harm’s way.”

Lions

When asked about his decision to return after having head coaching interest around the league, Lions OC Ben Johnson responded he wanted to continue building Detroit alongside HC Dan Campbell. 

“So 2021 and early part of 2022, he had made this analogy to the team that we were sailing down the ocean and, at that moment, we were in the Arctic,” Johnson said, via Brad Galli of WXYZ. “We were hitting the icebergs, had the storms going on and those were dark days. But he had the foresight, he had the vision of where we were going and where were heading. He assured us ‘Guys, I see where we’re going. The results haven’t been there yet, but the Caribbean’s on the horizon. It’s coming up.’ I’m sitting on the plane thinking back to that. The story of my career has been living in that Arctic for a lot of it. The second time I’ve been to the playoffs, the first time I’d experienced winning games in the playoffs. I think when it boils down to it, I wanted the sunshine a little bit longer. I like what we’ve built here.”

Packers

After hitting free agency this offseason, Packers CB Keisean Nixon returned to Green Bay on a three-year contract. Nixon always wanted to remain with the Packers and mentioned he’s comfortable in DC Jeff Hafley’s scheme. 

“I’m happy I’m back here,” Nixon said, via the team’s YouTube. “This is where I wanted to be. I didn’t want to go nowhere else. I’m happy my agent and Gutey and them got everything done. Here for at least another three (years).”

“I’m comfortable with (the scheme). I like Coach Haf and what’s he’s bringing to the table and his design of the defense. It’ll a little different than how I played it, but it makes sense.”