NFC Notes: Jordan Love, Colston Loveland, Bears, Lions, Packers

Bears 

Bears HC Ben Johnson believes that No. 10 pick TE Colston Loveland has traits similar to Lions TE Sam LaPorta.

“I love the tape. I love everything about the tape, but when you get to know him as a man, it’s really intriguing,” Johnson said, via Pro Football Talk. “It’s who we want to be going forward, in my opinion. He stands for high football character, IQ, intelligence, but he’s a great teammate. When we went to the University of Michigan, everybody was raving about him to see how he conducted himself, not only amongst his teammates, but walking through the building and interacting with equipment staff and video staff. You could tell that he was so well-respected. His story’s a little bit unique, coming from small town Idaho, and yet going to the big stage like he did, he didn’t bat an eye. And so, yeah, I do see a lot of comparisons to LaPorta, but that’s not just on the field. That was off the field as well, because with LaPorta, the stage was never too big or too bright. I felt that same thing with Colston the first time I met him. He doesn’t bat an eye. He performs at a high level. And as we talk about where we’re going as an organization, and we’re going to be playing in these big games with the bright lights, we need guys that are going to rise up to the occasion, and he’s going to do that for us.”

• Bears LB T.J. Edwards signed a two-year, $20 million extension with the Bears with $16.65 million fully guaranteed, including a $7 million signing bonus. His 2025 and 2026 salaries are both guaranteed. The new money guarantee is $11.25 million. Edwards’ 2025 cap number increased by $1.67 million as a result of the extension. (OTC)

Lions

Lions HC Dan Campbell downplayed the possibility of the team backsliding with a new offensive and defensive coordinator coming in this offseason, with John Morton and Kelvin Sheppard.

“We’ll be fine. We’ll be fine,” Campbell said, via Pro Football Talk. “Everybody knows how I feel bout these coaches that have been here and been part of this. I’m happy for them. They’re moving on, and I wish them the best. John Morton stepping in as offensive coordinator, somebody I trust, I’ve been around, he was here when we built this thing back up in ’22. And then Kelvin Sheppard’s been here, man. It’s not like we’ll be starting from scratch with somebody I don’t know. It’ll be kind of fresh and new, actually, and I think we’re all excited about that.”

Packers

Packers QB Jordan Love said he wants to make more off-platform plays next season.

“For me personally,” Love said, via PFT. “I was dealing with an injury last year, but I think a big part of my game that I was missing was being able to get on the move, scramble a little bit more, take off and run and sometimes just extend plays — create some more off-schedule plays, I think, is a big part of the offense that we were missing that I didn’t do as well of a job on. So, that’s definitely something I’m trying to focus on going into this year.”