NFC Notes: Matt LaFleur, Caleb Williams, Bears, Lions, Packers

Bears

The Bears’ 5-12 season in 2024 was the least successful of Caleb Williams‘ entire football career before entering the NFL. Williams admitted he struggled “mentally, physically, spiritually” last season. 

“When I got home, I got in my bed. I just dropped a few tears,” Williams said, via Brian O’Keefe of Esquire. “And I was just so beat-up mentally, physically, spiritually.”

In the end, Williams thinks his troublesome rookie season helped his growth as a player. 

“I think those losses were pretty important for me and my growth,” Williams said. “To go on a losing streak, to be in this position and be at the helm of it, was definitely important for me. Just being able to see how I need to be when times are bad.”

Williams said he’s not concerned about being friendly to opposing players and wants to maintain a “competitive advantage” with his mindset. 

“I think the NFL game has become very friendly, and I don’t necessarily want to be friends, because I want to keep that competitive advantage,” Williams said.

Lions

• The Lions released DE Za’Darius Smith, but haven’t ruled out bringing him back. GM Brad Holmes said he hasn’t had any new discussions with Smith, per Eric Woodyard. 
• SI.com’s Albert Breer thinks “there’s a good chance” the Lions look to add one of the many talented edge rushers in the upcoming draft.

Packers

Green Bay RB Josh Jacobs made waves this offseason after saying the team needs to find a true wide receiver one, which didn’t sit well with other receivers on the team. Packers HC Matt LaFleur said he had discussions with Jacobs about those comments while expressing his belief in the players they have on the roster.

“It’s something we definitely talked about,” LaFleur said, via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. “I think it’s an unintended consequence. I don’t think he was trying to disparage any of our other guys and I hope our guys don’t take it that way. Ideally, they’ll continue to work and push and one of those guys will be that guy, but I feel good about our receiver room.”

With Christian Watson set to miss an extended period of time with a knee injury, LaFleur wants to see the tight ends and running backs step up to fill his void. 

“Obviously, it doesn’t help when you lose a guy like Christian Watson, and who knows when we’ll get him back? Just his physicality, his speed, he’s an intelligent player. You could move him from position to position within a game and not everybody can handle that, so that is a big loss for us, but those other guys are gonna have to pick up the slack and like I mentioned earlier, whether it’s coming from the tight end room or the running back room, whether it’s Josh or maybe a guy like MarShawn Lloyd … but that’s our job as coaches, is try to figure that out and put the best pieces out there to maximize that part of the game.”