Bears
Bears G Jonah Jackson signed a three-year deal with the Rams before he suffered a fractured scapula in Week 2 and lost his starting job one week into his return.
“All that matters is how you bounce back,” Jackson told Tyler Dunne. “I’m excited to get back to it and string a full season together and get a damn ring. Screw the personal accolades. It’s to win it all. The Bears are such a historic franchise, and they’ve been there before. We’re excited to be a part of a turnaround. I’ve been a part of a turnaround before, and we can definitely do it again.”
“What I bring to the offensive line room, in a leadership role, is my work ethic, my effort and strain down-in and down-out,” Jackson added. “I feel like my ability to jell the group together, we always used to joke around and call me the glue: Elmer’s Glue. Bringing the group together as a tough-nosed O-lineman ready to work and protect the guy behind me. He took 68 sacks and was still fighting, still clawing. You keep him safe, you keep his eyes downfield and away from the rush, he can have fun back there and slice and dice things up.”
Bears
The Bears brought in veteran QB Case Keenum this offseason. Keenum said he understands where he’s at in this point of his career but still feels like he’s competing at a “high level.”
“I know where I’m at in my career and what I can bring to a team,” Keenum said, via Gabby Hajduk of the team’s site. “For me, a lot of it is not just on the field. I still feel like I have a lot of juice left and can play at a high level, but it’s also about the off-the-field things you do during offseason workouts and the relationships you build, the trust you build, the culture that you want to help instill.”
Keenum highly praised QB Caleb Williams and understands what it’s like to get hit after Williams suffered 68 sacks last season.
“I watched all of Caleb and was blown away by the skill set,” Keenum said. “I did not know him personally, but man, watching some of the throws and things that he’s able to do in games he’s able to win and plays he’s able to make, it’s like, ‘oh my, he’s got everything you could possibly want in an NFL quarterback.’ I’ve just been in a lot of situations, and I’ve gotten the crap knocked out of me a bunch, and more than knowing how to get hit, I know how to get back up and I know what it takes to play at a very high level in this league.”
Keenum thinks he fits well into HC Ben Johnson‘s offense after talking to the coach and GM Ryan Poles.
“As I got to know the Bears coaching staff and Ryan and Ben, it’s like, ‘yeah, this is a place that fits me, and I can really get behind and be a part of this and enjoy playing football again.’”
Vikings
Vikings S Harrison Smith said that the team needs to take their play to another level to push further into the playoffs and make an appearance in the Super Bowl.
“There’s a foundation that’s been set that, you can notice it — things operate pretty smoothly, and the people here are giving high-level effort and winning a lot of ball games,” Smith said, via the team’s website. “But there’s another level that we need to get to, and in this business, you have to do it right now. It’s not like, ‘Oh, you know, year one was good. Let’s just keep trying,’ It’s got to happen right now. I think moving forward, that emphasis of, ‘Turn it up a little bit to a level we haven’t been before’ — that is necessary to get where we want to go.”
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