Bears
New Bears WR Keenan Allen had played his entire career with the Chargers and thought there was a good chance that would be where he stayed. A trade to Chicago was unexpected but Allen is embracing the opportunity.
“I’m definitely excited about the new opportunity,” Allen said via NFL Media’s Bobby Kownack. “Being with a new organization, this organization has a lot of tradition. Obviously wanted to finish my career [with the Chargers], but things happen and you’ve got to keep on going.”
The Bears traded for Allen as they try to build the offense up for a rookie quarterback, presumably USC’s Caleb Williams who is the favorite for the No. 1 pick. Allen was added to be a reliable, friendly target for the rookie.
“I’m just a friendly guy,” he said. “I’m a friendly guy on and off the field. Obviously on the football field, I know the game. I know the ins and outs. I know the zones. I know how to beat man. I know pretty much how to play the game, so I just think I’m friendly for the quarterback because I’ll be in the right spots. I know how to communicate with them.”
He’ll team up with WR D.J. Moore, who the Bears acquired in a trade last year, to give Chicago two 1,000-yard receivers for Williams.
- Allen was due a roster bonus of $5 million on March 18th, per Over the Cap.
- Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer says the Bears have shown “zero appetite” in trading down from No. 1 overall so far in the process.
Packers
- New Packers RB Josh Jacobs talked about teaming up with former college teammate S Xavier McKinney in Green Bay: “Knowing him for so long, even over the years, we still talk all the time. For me to be able to come here with him, we were talking about it [when arriving in Green Bay], sitting down eating, it’s special. I don’t think it’s really hit me yet, being here and everything like that, but I think it’s going to be fun.” (Rob Demovsky)
Vikings
Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah talked about having to move on from QB Kirk Cousins despite feeling like they would still win many games with him.
“This sport isn’t such where you can just say on a binary basis: ‘I want that player.’ I think we’ve been very clear since we’ve gotten here that we like Kirk Cousins. We’ve been very clear that we think we could win a Super Bowl with Kirk Cousins,” Adofo-Mesah said, via Alec Lewis of The Athletic.
“But we have a sport that only gives you a certain number of draft picks, a salary cap – it’s a resource-constrained thing. So, we don’t get the chance to just say binary: ‘Yes or no.’ There has to be planning and strategy involved. When I called Kirk, we joked about the uncomfortable middle (in negotiation). That’s what deals should be. And we weren’t able to find that. And that’s hard from a basis of appreciation for the player. But that doesn’t mean we didn’t compete for him. Sometimes, it just gets to that place where the uncomfortable middle isn’t somewhere where you want want to go, or where a different team can go because of their timeline of their team, they’re in a different situation.”
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