NFC Notes: Chase Claypool, Quay Walker, Bears, Lions, Packers

Bears

Bears WR Chase Claypool understands how important of a year this is for him and he said his work ethic is matching the importance of it.

“It’s the biggest year of my life, and I understand that,” Claypool said, via Courtney Cronin of ESPN. “If anybody thinks my work ethic isn’t matching that, they’re deeply mistaken.”

Claypool addressed concerns about his durability and effectiveness within the team’s offense.

“I guess I get it,” Claypool said. “Maybe people weren’t happy with how I dealt with the offseason, but that’s only the perception that was given to them and not the reality that’s true. I remember almost blowing my knee out against the Packers and being done for the game and kind of pleading to be put back in, putting the knee brace back on, and went back in and tried to help my team win. So, if there’s any questions on how much I’m willing to do to help this team win, there shouldn’t be. You know? I think that I’m doing everything I can to be as healthy as possible and knowing in the game everyone gets injured.”

Claypool added that his knee was not the reason he was placed on the PUP list to begin camp.

“That’s not that,” Claypool said. “It’s not even my knee, either. It’s not even that.”

Bears TE Cole Kmet defended Claypool, adding that it’s tough to transition from one offense to another midseason.

“It’s tough,” Kmet said. “When you move from one place to another and go into a brand-new offense and, quite frankly, an offense that we were all still getting comfortable with at the time, and to be thrown in the mix like that, it’s tough. I think this offseason he has done a great job and he is around for the six weeks and throwing with Justin and the rest of the guys and getting work in there. So I know he’s ready to go and looking forward to the season.”

Bears HC Matt Eberflus believes Claypool is due for a bounce-back campaign.

“I think he’s in a good spot,” Eberflus said. “I have a lot of conversations with Clay, as we all do with our players. He feels like he’s in a good spot. I think he’s got a lot of confidence being the second year into it — or going into the second part of it. I think he’s in a real good spot.”

Lions

Lions HC Dan Campbell believes that the team has a solid defensive line despite some questions from the outside about if the team would strengthen the position during the draft or in free agency. 

“Yeah, I think more than anything, D-line, do your job,” Campbell told reporters, via LionsWire.com. “The fundamentals, the technique need to show up. It’s one of the reasons why we’ve got (new DL coach) John Scott here. I think everything starts – when you start talking about upfront, everything starts with the fundamentals of how you play the position inside-out and stopping the run. And then you go from there, you build from there, as it pertains to pass-rush. But I think the fundamentals need to show up, our hands, our pad level, our strike, our shed, the violent shed, I think – that’s what I’m looking for, inside-out, period. All those guys, do your job, do what you’re asked because if we do that, we have enough right now, I believe that. It’s early, I’ve got it, but we’ll see.”

Packers

Packers LB Quay Walker told reporters that he has put plenty of thought into the two ejections he received in 2022 over the course of this offseason. He is also aware that opposing teams may try and bait him into penalties this coming season.

“To be honest with you, this entire offseason I thought about the two ejections,” Walker said, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN. “It was hard giving myself grace on that, but at the same time, I’ve moved past it. The past is the past, and I’m just ready to move forward and just learn from it. Of course, I can say that, but I have to do it by my actions. So I’m just ready to go from there.”

“I just talked to myself, meditating as well, talking to Dr. Carr, just being more open, just going from there,” Walker continued. “I was a person that was real, real closed in, with all my thoughts and everything like that, with the stuff I had going on, but that ain’t really got anything to do with what took place. But those were the things I did over the offseason to prepare me to not make those same mistakes over again.”

“I know most teams will label me a hothead, so I kind of am already preparing for what’s going to happen and things like that,” Walker concluded. “So I’ve just got to be ready for everything that’s going to come. I know it’s going to come in Week 1, with it being a rivalry game [against the Bears]. Every week, teams will try to go at me, so I’m already preparing for it.”