NFL Trade Rumors
Bears’ recently hired HC Ben Johnson said his message to the team is to be focused on winning “now.”
“Our mission starting this spring is to win and to win now. I get goosebumps right now just thinking about being the head coach of the Chicago Bears. I know exactly what this role and this responsibility requires, and I cannot wait to get to work,” Johnson said, via PFT.
Johnson plans on building their scheme around QB Caleb Williams. He explained today’s game is “quarterback-driven.”
“Modern football in the NFL is quarterback-driven,” Johnson said.
Lions GM Brad Holmes was asked about extending the contract of S Kerby Joseph, who is heading into the final year of his rookie deal in 2025.
“Yeah, I mean, again, that’s on the docket in terms of – to be looked at and discussed,” Holmes said of an extension for Joseph, via the team website. “We know where he’s at from an eligibility (standpoint). Look, he’s an All-Pro player, I mean, I don’t know how you don’t make the Pro Bowl with nine interceptions, whatever that is, but he’s an All-Pro player and he’s another one that’s gotten better and better, so he’s one that has proven that he’s a Detroit Lion.”
“He fits our culture,” Holmes said of Joseph. “It’s hard to find ballhawk guys that will tackle like how he does, and I think that’s what makes him unique, so again, we haven’t had any intense dialogue about that yet, but obviously we want to keep the good players here.”
Vikings QB Sam Darnold enters the offseason as the top quarterback available on the open market unless he agrees to an extension with Minnesota. Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post cites a league source with salary-cap expertise who indicated some teams think this season was the “absolute ceiling” for Darnold.
“Going back to Darnold’s draft day, everybody does think highly of his skill set, and that will always help him,” the source said. “But there are some teams that are thinking, ‘We just saw the absolute ceiling, given how good the circumstances were around him.’ There will be some trepidation, but Darnold’s free agency is the greatest timing in the world because last year we had six quarterbacks go in the top 12 of the draft and now we’ll get two in the first round. That is massively beneficial to him.”
Darnold closed the season with some tough performances, including completing 18 of 41 passes for 166 yards in their season-finale loss to the Lions and 25 of 40 passes for 245 yards in their Wild Card loss to the Rams. One AFC scout thinks Darnold’s last two performances...
