NFL Notes: Bears, Eagles, Panthers, Steelers

Bears

Bears HC John Fox mentioned that the opportunity to coach the North team at the Senior Bowl gave them “tremendous insight” and other valuable information regarding some of this year’s draft prospects.

“I’d rather coach it, other than qualifying for it, I’d rather coach it [than evaluate from the bleachers],” Fox said, via ChicagoBears.com. “We got tremendous insight.

“I think we learned a ton [about the players]. How much they interact, how they learn, how coachable they are. Usually this is the first look for coaches [at the draft prospects]. What’s been kind of nice is actually being in the meeting room, watching film and interacting with them. It’s a big catapult in my mind.”

Eagles

• Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice.com writes that even with an abundance of talent at cornerback in this year’s draft class, the Eagles should still consider drafting one early, as opposed to waiting to the middle rounds just because there’s depth at the position.

Panthers

• Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer believes that impending free agent DE Julius Peppers would consider returning to the Panthers this offseason.
• However, Fowler writes that this would only occur if Carolina becomes interested in him, if he is willing to sign a “very reasonable” contract, and if he is no longer interested in retirement.

Steelers

With the talk that the Steelers are growing frustrated with WR Antonio Brown‘s antics, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes that this could actually work in the team’s favor to some degree in regards to a contract extension for Brown.

“They’ll surely offer him one, but there’s nothing like a little psychological warfare to soften his expectations,” Florio writes. “By creating the impression that they’re not happy with Brown, who remains one of the best receivers in the game, they may be able to lock him up for a lot less than he otherwise would want.”

Florio also mentions that they could attempt to sell high on Brown if another team inquires about a potential trade.