Bears
When appearing on the Chicago Bears Podcasts, new RBs coach Eric Bieniemy said he wants RB D’Andre Swift to make medium gains and also “hit the home run when he needs to.”
“Now, more than anything, we gotta make sure that he understands that he can find four and a half between the tackles but also hit the home run when he needs to,” Bieniemy said.
Packers
- Arkansas State C Jacob Bayer has three official 30 visits, including with the Packers, per his agent.
- CJ Vogel reports that Texas WR Isaiah Bond has a top-30 visit scheduled with the Packers in April.
- BYU CB Marque Collins met with the Packers at the Big 12 pro day. (Justin Melo)
- Texas State G Nash Jones met with the Packers at his pro day. (Tony Pauline)
Panthers
Veteran S Nick Scott spoke at length about his decision to re-sign with the Panthers and what the team’s future might look like as they progress under the new regime.
“I think one of the toughest things that people don’t realize in the NFL is change, right, or lack of consistency because it’s a job that requires so much consistency, but when your environment is constantly changing, it’s hard to kind of match that consistency on the field which I’ve learned, the hard way just in moving around a couple of years. But super happy to be here, happy I don’t have to move my family again. I think it means for everybody it’s going to be a little bit of an increase of a leadership role for guys that have been here, just kind of showing guys the ropes,” Scott told the team website. “(Head coach Dave) Canales has only been here one year, but the guys who have been with him know what to expect. We know his coaching style and what we’re trying to do here, so just trying to get guys on the same page as fast as possible is only gonna help us. I really feel like this team, this culture is headed in the right direction, and as long as we have a few guys that kind of stick with it and can show everybody who’s coming in how we want this thing to run, we’ll be in good shape.”
Scott also gave insight into the defense and how they can come together with veteran leadership, including from both the coaching staff and himself.
“I think a lot of it is just communicating with one another and just learning together, committing to learning together and growing together,” Scott noted. “Obviously, we’re going to start in a little bit of a different spot than we were last year with really only two guys on the roster right now that have played snaps in this defense before, which can be a little bit challenging in terms of communication, and most of that communication falls on us as the safeties. So just constant communication with Coach E and our safety coach, and corners coach about where we’re at, being honest about that, and making sure that wherever we are, we have the best product going out on the field. And, honestly, I feel like a good amount of that might fall on me, just being somebody who’s played in this defense for multiple years, knows the verbiage, everything like that, so definitely we’ll take the onus on that.”
Scott is also taking it upon himself to be a guide for incoming S Tre’von Moehrig to help smooth the transition from Las Vegas to Carolina.
“We brought in a safety who’s extremely talented, and from what I can see, the best football he plays is when he can just go. And when you just go, it means you have an understanding. So the quickest I can help him get to that understanding of this defense, the faster we can watch him fly. I’m super excited for those guys and the opportunity that they have because they played extremely well last year and were huge in terms of driving the ship and special teams and everything like that, so I want to give them their credit, but I would say, I mean my challenge to guys would be, don’t try to be last year’s unit. Let’s be our own unit, whatever that looks like, and still make plays and get excited and all that stuff, but just have your own personality. We don’t need anybody to be Feleipe Franks. Feleipe is Feleipe, and we love him for that. But whoever wants to step up and make plays, I don’t care if somebody has 20 tackles in the season and they never celebrate one time because that’s production, that’s all we want when we’re out there. We want production, we want smart plays, and we want the ball.”
“I’ve definitely seen a shift in this building,” Scott added about the team. “Just in my time from when I first came in here to where we were at the point of last season, and I was really excited to try and come back and be part of this. (There’s) a seriousness and focus and a belief, and you didn’t get the sense when we first walked in here—I’m talking way before, I’m talking this time last year—that there was a whole bunch of belief. But I really feel like the guys who are here now and the coaches believe that we can win games, that we can win our division first and foremost, and that we have the guys to do it, so I’m excited.”
Looking for the latest NFL Insider News & Rumors?
Be sure to follow NFL Trade Rumors on X.com and FACEBOOK for breaking NFL News and Rumors for all 32 teams!
