Bears

Bears QB Caleb Williams admitted he is having more fun this offseason in HC Ben Johnson’s offense, as he is familiar with the scheme and terminology. The new Madden cover athlete hopes that the more time that passes, the greater advantage his knowledge of the offense will provide for him.

“It’s a hell of a lot more fun for me than it was last year,” Williams said, via Pro Football Talk. “I was saying it to Coach Studes, ‘Dude, I feel like I was drowning, trying to breathe or stay alive and wait for a boat to come around last year.’ Now this year, it’s being able to start what we finished last year, play calls and words and verbiage and speak the same language, and now it’s being able to grow more from an earlier stage than maybe doing it a little bit earlier in the season or halfway through the season, speaking on things that really helps throughout the year, and later in the year. That’s the advantage.”

Bears

The Bears lost veteran S Kevin Byard and LB Tremaine Edmunds this offseason, two of their more vocal leaders from the 2025 defense. Chicago HC Ben Johnson believes they have a great mix of vocal leaders and leaders by example to help fill the void created by their departures.

“It opens opportunities for other guys, too,” Johnson said, via Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic. “I think we have a number of players on this team who are listened to, and their voices are well respected. And then we have a bunch of them who are simply leaders by example. So I feel like we’ll fill that void. And those guys will come to life, and we’ll get a feel over the course of camp for who those guys are. Of course we’ll vote for captains, our players will. And that sheds a lot of light on who they respect as well.”

Former Seahawks S Coby Bryant is among the defensive additions coming off a Super Bowl win. Johnson thinks Bryant will instantly take on a leadership role because of his winning pedigree and praised his effort in getting to the ball carrier.

“He knows what good football and bad football looks like. He just came from a Super Bowl-winning team. There’s a premium on that experience. I think that easily resonates with all the guys in the locker room. I think there’s an instant amount of respect that he’s garnered because of that.”

“When you watch him on the practice field, he really comes to life. (Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen) showed a clip to the defense this morning just of him coming out of the post safety position and rallying to the football. It was all over his tape in Seattle, and that’s what we’re getting right now. I think it’s contagious.”

Vikings

Vikings QB Kyler Murray spoke about the transition from Minnesota to Arizona and splitting reps with QB J.J. McCarthy.

“I think the toughest part is, again, I was [in Arizona] for seven years,” Murray told reporters, via Pro Football Talk. “I know I had two different offensive systems. But at the same time, you’re getting all those reps, you know, now having to split reps. Me already being behind, not getting the amount of reps that, you know, you would typically want a guy to get [while] learning an offense. That’s probably the toughest part, just, again, going back to the past, being in control of everything, understanding what we were already doing, because I was comfortable within the system. Now I’m coming into the new system, learning on the fly, trying to play fast, efficient, and then let it loose while learning.”