Bears
Bears second-round CB Tyrique Stevenson was asked if he had any “Welcome to the NFL” moments attempting to guard WR D.J. Moore in practice and said there wasn’t just one but several.
“Honestly, there’s no bad in it,” Stevenson said, via Adam Jahns of The Athletic. “I feel like it’s always good. After every route or whenever I catch DJ, I kind of ask him some questions like, ‘What are you looking for?’ … It’s a good thing to have some vets to go against to be able to take some notes. Because at the end of the day, it’s a team sport.”
Now on the Browns practice squad, QB P.J. Walker commented on Moore as a person and the chemistry that had developed between the two during their time with the Bears an Panthers.
“I know his speed,” Walker said before the Bears released him last week. “His pickup speed’s a lot faster than their pickup speed. I ain’t looking for him. But I feel he’s down there. Oh, man, that’s something I’ve seen over the past couple of years. It’s just giving him an opportunity to make these plays. I’ve seen him making them over a ton of guys. When you put it up in the air, he’s going to find the football. He can go out there and make a play for you.”
“I’ve seen him do things that were out of the ordinary for a receiver because he’s smart,” Walker added. “He’s one of those guys that can see coverages. He knows what he’s getting on the football field. So when you get a guy like that, it makes the transition really easy for a quarterback like Justin.”
Bears HC Matt Eberflus is happy to have Moore onboard after acquiring him in a trade with the Panthers that sent the first overall draft pick to Carolina.
“We knew he was a special player,” Eberflus said. “And he needed to have some attention. If you’re giving him attention by putting a good guy on him or our best player on him or a player over the top, we had a plan for him.”
Lions
Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs believes he can record 1,000 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards this season as a rookie.
“Most definitely, especially with this system,” Gibbs told ESPN’s Michele Steele. “If we win, the rest will come.”
However, Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo is likely already game-planning for when Gibbs steps on the field.
“It’s all eyeballs on No. 26 when he goes in the game,” Spagnuolo said. “That’s one of the things we’ve been talking about, know where he is and if he’s in the game because we certainly think with a guy that’s that explosive they’re going to try to find a way to get him the ball.”
Vikings
Vikings QB Kirk Cousins knows that 2023 will be a 17-game audition to see if the team will offer him another contract to keep him in Minnesota beyond this season.
“It’s sort of been life for me,” Cousins said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN. “I would even go back to college [at Michigan State] with quarterback competitions with Nick Foles. You basically felt that you’re going out there every day and putting your job on the line. That’s quarterbacking. I’ve been doing it for 16 years. This will be my 17th. That’s kind of the life you live. And I think when you take that seriously, that lends itself to having success more days than not.”
Cousins deflected when asked if he should have to play for his job this season, but added that he was taking on a mantra from former Patriots QB Tom Brady that nobody should feel entitled to their job.
“Tom made the point that there is no entitlement in the NFL,” Cousins said. “And if there is entitlement in the NFL, that organization is probably doing it wrong. I think it’s healthy when players need to go out every day, and nobody is entitled to anything. I think that’s a healthy way to run an organization. It’s going to bring out the best in all of us. If it ever isn’t that way here, I would be the first one to complain and say, ‘I sense some entitlement, and let’s change that.’”
Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell said he’s communicated with Cousins regularly about his situation and the two are on the same page moving forward.
“A lot of the time,” O’Connell said, “it’s just asking the questions: Where’s his head at? How’s he feeling? Most of the time [the conversation] veers toward scheme and how we want to play and what’s being asked of him and how he can do his job at a really high level. But I think it would naïve of me not to at least be there for him in a way where he knows that I fully, fully support him not only as our captain and our starting quarterback, but he knows my feelings towards him.“
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