NFC Notes: Jaylon Johnson, Jordan Love, Bears, Packers

Jaylon Johnson

Bears CB Jaylon Johnson said he was never able to get on the same page with GM Ryan Poles regarding a contract extension and feels the organization tried to get things done. 

“I would say overall, seeking opportunity. That’s the biggest thing for me,” Johnson said, via Josh Schrock of NBC Sports. “I feel like really not coming to be on the same page… Like I said, there’s a difference between talking and trying to work things out versus trying to get things done. Up until this weekend, nothing was done. I figured I wanted some different opportunities to see what else was out there for me.”

During Poles’ press conference, the general manager explained he felt like they were making progress on an extension before allowing him to seek a trade. 

“I thought we made progress. I texted my group. I’m like we’ll be able to get this deal done in a matter of days,” Poles said. “We come back from the trip, and his team wants to explore a trade situation. I’m fine with that, but we brought Jaylon in, we sat down, we talked about it. I granted him permission to do that.”

Poles said they don’t want to lose Johnson and thought a late first- or early second-round pick would be the proper compensation for him. 

“I don’t want to lose Jaylon Johnson,” Poles said. “If I were to lose Jaylon Johnson, I would like to have a high percentage of hitting on another Jaylon Johnson, which to me, is a late first and into early second (round pick). Really simple there. That didn’t happen. We are still open to getting a contract done. I know we’re going to follow Jaylon’s lead on how he wants to go about doing that but we’re still open.”

Bears

• Jeremy Fowler of ESPN thinks the Bears made a positive move by acquiring DE Montez Sweat despite him being in the final year of his contract because Chicago houses the league’s worst pass rush with just 10 sacks. 
• In the end, Fowler feels a second-round pick in exchange for Sweat was reasonable given the Dolphins traded a first-round pick for Bradley Chubb last year.
• However, Fowler also writes that Chicago not laying the groundwork for a contract extension on Sweat “seems shortsighted” given the team is still in a rebuilding process and requires draft picks. 
• Citing several teams, Fowler reports Chicago wanted at least a Day 2 draft pick in exchange for CB Jaylon Johnson.

Packers

Packers GM Brian Gutekunst said their entire offense has been a “work in progress” when asked about Jordan Love‘s development. 

“A little bit up and down, like our entire offense. It’s been a work in progress for the entire offense. There’s been glimpses, particularly in the second halves, of really good football, but we have not started very well,” Gutekunst said, via NFL.com. “I think that unit as a whole has a lot of work to do, but at the same time, I think they’re committed to the process. I expect better results coming.”

Gutekunst likes how Love has responded to adversity through eight weeks and expects the offense to improve over the final 10 games. 

“We’ve got 10 games left. It’s going to be a very important ten games,” Gutekunst said. “I think he’s done a lot of really good things. I really like the way he’s responded to the adversity, how he’s led the team. We’ve got to get better as a unit, and I expect that to happen over the next 10 games. We’re going through some things that we knew we would go through. We haven’t had the results we want, but I do like the way guys are responding to things.”

Gutekunst mentioned they aren’t just evaluating the quarterback position and are putting focus on all of their players. 

“It’s not just evaluating the quarterback, but everything. All the players. When the group as a whole is not functioning the way it should function, it’s hard to evaluate anybody,” Gutekunst said. “At the same time, it’s on us to get that right so we can move forward and evaluate the guys we have in that room. When we’re not clicking, it’s tough to evaluate anything.”