Bears
The Bears recently signed CB Kyler Gordon to a three-year extension to lock in a piece of their secondary next to CB Jaylon Johnson. New DC Dennis Allen spoke about wanting to move Gordon around because of his versatility at multiple positions.
“He’s played more outside corner, so obviously that would be the comfort level, but some of the things that I’ve seen him do, and the way that he fits in the run game tells me he’s a good fit at safety,” Allen said, via Mike Pendleton of the Bears Wire. “We’ve had guys that have had flexibility to play a lot of different positions. I think that’s important in today’s football, where you’re not just locked into one thing, being able to play multiple, and do a lot of different things. As we get to know him better, spend more time with him, start to get out on the field with him a bit more, we’ll have a better feel for where that second position might be and where we want to try and work him.”
Packers
Packers HC Matt LaFleur feels like it could be a breakout season for tight ends Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave, given that the team will be without WR Christian Watson for an unknown period of time.
“I think it’s going to be a great year for both those guys,” LaFleur said at the League Meeting. “I think there are some things we can do schematically with him that maybe we haven’t done in the past, so that’s why I’m excited to get everybody back and try to implement some of the ideas that we got from watching tape and collectively as a staff. Because there is one thing that is evident when you watch: When Tuck gets the ball, usually good things happen. He’s a powerful dude, he runs extremely hard, I love how he finishes.”
“I’m excited for Luke. He’s had a great offseason. He’s been training in Green Bay. He’s bigger, stronger, faster. He’s attacking it the right way,” LaFleur told Larry McCarren of Packers.com. “I think we can all see the talent the guy has.”
Panthers
The Panthers re-signed OL Brady Christensen to an extension in March. Christensen highly praised run game coordinator Harold Goodwin, OL coach Joe Gilbert, and offensive quality control coach Dean Petzing.
“I mean, this is a great program,” Christensen said, via Darin Gantt of the team’s site. “The coaches, Goody and Joe and Dean and that staff is just, I felt like I got so much better last year. And being a new center, I got so much better at the techniques that they teach. I thought it was invaluable to be able to play under them again and get better this year. And obviously, you know, Dave and what he’s doing and Dan (Morgan) and Brandt (Tilis), you know, they’re building a great team, so I’m just happy to be part of it.”
Christensen reflected on his quick decision to re-sign with Carolina.
“The hard part about it is you’ve got some time, but it’s also a pretty quick decision, so you’ve got to go through those things fast,” Christensen said. “Like, we were talking for an hour or two before we signed, and basically, we need to decide. In that hour or two, we just weighed the pros and cons of things and committed. So it’s awesome. A lot of people talked about the versatility, and that’s OK with me. I’m totally happy not knowing exactly what position I’m going to play, but knowing that I can play them all is awesome.”
As for converting to the center role, he talked about identifying rushers at the line as the biggest difference.
“At center, you’ve got to know all the IDs; you’ve got to get everyone on the same page. You’ve got to have the communication,” Christensen said. “At guard, you’ve got to be ready for the big guys in the middle, the Dexter Lawrences, the Cam Heywards, and that’s not easy. And at tackle, obviously, you’re more on the island, mentally maybe not as challenging because you know you’ve got to be so focused on, you know, the Brian Burnses of the world, the Myles Garretts of the world, so it’s like it’s just a different little mind shift when you go from position to position. But at the same time, it’s offensive line, and so a lot of carryover for each position as well, right?”
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