Bears
Bears DE Montez Sweat said he’s been studying Saints DE Cameron Jordan‘s film, especially after Chicago hired DC Dennis Allen this offseason.
“Cam Jordan has always kind of been one of those premier pass rushers in the league,” Sweat said, via Marquee Sports Network. “It’s kind of hard not to watch him when you play my position. I have gone back and looked at some of the film of how he’s excelled in this defense under Dennis Allen.”
Sweat often skips voluntary offseason activities, but he believed that he needed to attend this year to master Allen’s new scheme.
“I feel like it was important for a new scheme, especially with a complex scheme like this just to come in, learn the defense,” Sweat said. “Try to learn it once or twice and again as the season goes along.”
Johnson said that Sweat approached him this offseason about what went wrong last year and how he could improve in 2025.
“I think that speaks volumes for his character,” Johnson said. “He was very disappointed with how the season went last year, as a lot of the guys in the locker room were both individually and as a team, and felt such a way, so compelled, that he was here throughout the springtime, which is not something that he’s done in the past. He’s committed to this team. He’s committed to getting better. And so I’ve been very pleased with what I’ve seen from him so far.”
Lions
Lions DC Kelvin Sheppard was asked about returning DE Aidan Hutchinson, noting that he looks better than he did before the injury.
“Listen I’m not saying anything about numbers, statistics or any of that. But, I see a better player than we had last year,” Sheppard said, via Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com. “And you might be like, ‘Woah.’ Like, that’s the same thing I said when I saw him out there. I’m like, ‘Woah.’”
Packers
Packers TE Tucker Kraft relinquished two fumbles in Green Bay’s first week of training camp. Head coach Matt LaFleur said they are challenging all of their players to maintain better ball security.
“I got on the guys this morning about exposing the football,” LaFleur said, via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. “Certainly, we all know what kind of player Tucker Kraft is and can be. He can’t allow Evan Williams to reach around and punch a ball out, so it is challenging everybody and hopefully that makes us that much better.”
Kraft said he’s working on holding onto the ball, but also pointed out that the offense is typically asked to allow defenders to punch at the ball and cannot stiff-arm players.
“It’s something we’re always working on. I’d say a lot of the times — there’s certain rules you play with in practice, like just letting the defense punch repeatedly. You’re not allowed to stiff-arm. I guess all I have are excuses. Yes, I am working on not fumbling the ball in practice,” Kraft said.
Kraft added that he likes to use his off-hand “as a weapon” during the season, which he is being asked to avoid at this point in training camp.
“It’s a large part of my game,” Kraft said. “I use my off hand as a weapon, repeatedly, all the time. I’ve shown that, so I get my reps in that when we play games, I guess. … I just play by the rules. I don’t make ’em.”
Vikings
Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy is embarking on his first training camp as a starting quarterback after undergoing season-ending knee surgery in August of last year as a rookie. McCarthy said he’s looking to re-find his “touch” and feels like there were a lot of things he could’ve improved on in OTAs.
“Not having those reps last year, that’s something you miss out on when you take a substantial amount of time off from throwing the football,” McCarthy said, via Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “You got to find that touch again. There was a lot of throws in OTAs where I felt I could’ve had a better outcome if I had that touch. Just learning from failures and trying to get better. . . . Those periods where they really get you, I feel like that’s where we learn the most about ourselves and our offense.”
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