NFC Notes: Josh Metellus, Jayden Reed, Bears, Packers, Vikings

• Bears HC Ben Johnson on rookie WR Luther Burden III: “Everything we’ve thought about him as a weapon with the ball in his hands has shown up since Day 1.” (Courtney Cronin)

• Packers WR Jayden Reed is “day-to-day” with a sprained foot, according to Adam Schefter, citing a source. Packers HC Matt LaFleur is hopeful Reed can play Week 1. 
• Reed’s injury is different from the toe injury he had earlier this summer. He’s in a walking boot, and LaFleur admitted, “Anytime you see a guy in a boot, that’s a concern.” (Rob Demovsky)
• Packers ST coordinator Rich Bisaccia on K Brandon McManus‘ hot streak: “He has a pure stroke, and he knows what it is. So when it’s a bad hit, he knows it before everyone else. When it’s a good hit, he knows. He makes noises and all that.” (Ryan Wood)

The Vikings go into the 2025 season after establishing one of the league’s best defenses last season under DC Brian Flores. Minnesota S Josh Metellus said everyone has “bought in” to Flores’ system and their defensive players have a lot of trust in each other. 

“We’re all bought in,” Metellus said, via Ted Nguyen and Alec Lewis of The Athletic. “That’s the biggest thing that’s been able to push us to this limit: Being able to trust in each other. Like, if Coach says it will work, we’re going to try it and we’re going to do it to our best ability. It might not work, but we’re going to give critiques honestly.”

Flores likes to be “creative” with his defense and is open to input from players and coaches. 

“I think of myself as a creative,” Flores said. “If you’ve got the thought and idea, I don’t care how extravagant it is or how outlandish it might be. I’d like to hear it, just to see if it’s possible.”

Flores points out that their defense is constantly trying to disguise what they are about to do. 

“I think we’ve built a reputation of disguise,” Flores said. “So, what they see, they don’t think that’s what it is. And so sometimes, what they see is what it is. Other times, the disguise is that we want to show them split-safety, but it’s really post-safety. And we want to show them post-safety, but it’s really split-safety. But, I think that’s one of the things from the two years of data standpoint. People are looking for something that may or may not be there, and they don’t believe the first thing they see. So, we can kinda use that to our advantage also.”