Bears
Bears CB Jaylon Johnson explained how his mindset changed around a potential contract extension.
“Honestly, for me, it used to be a lot of pressure,” Johnson said, via Bears Wire. “I would even say for me going into my third year, I felt like that was the year for me to put myself out there to be able to have a new contract, to be able to re-up. For me, it’s just about going out and being who I am. I know I can be a dominant corner. I am a dominant corner in this league, following No. 1 wide receivers and just finding ways to continue to do my job at a high rate, continue to be a better teammate, continue to find ways to win.”
Johnson added that his mindset is focused on winning and overall team success this year.
“With winning comes paychecks, and I think at the end of the day, I need to focus on winning,” Johnson said. “That’s what I’m worried about going into Year 4.”
Lions
Retaining OC Ben Johnson for the 2023 season was a huge coup for the Lions, as usually young coordinators who are the architect of a top-five offense like Johnson are hot commodities in the head coaching market. He’s been hammering a return to the basics and fundamentals to help the Lions maintain and perhaps even exceed the lofty bar they set on his side of the ball in 2022.
“When we look back at what we did in self-scout all of our plays from last year I came away from it personally that even if we didn’t run one new play this year, if we ran all the same plays that we ran last year, that we would be a better offense because we have to execute better than we did,” Johnson said via Tim Twentyman of the team website. “We did a lot of nice things a year ago, but it really means nothing going forward to this year. We have to be a lot better in terms of the execution and we should be because we’ve run it, and we should know what the problems are for the plays we’re running now.”
Packers
Packers WR Romeo Doubs feels more confident entering his second year in the league and said he’s playing faster.
“Going into Year 2, I’m playing a lot faster,” Doubs said, via Packers Wire. “So I don’t want to say comfortable, because I know being comfortable comes with some sort of complacent area. But just humbly speaking, I’m playing a lot faster.”
Doubs credited his knowledge of the playbook allowing him to play more freely.
“Just understanding the plays more,” Doubs added. “Not only do I get to understand the play, but why the play is being ran. Everything else just becomes natural and reactionary.”
Doubs also said that he and QB Jordan Love have put in extra work together this offseason.
“I’ve been working with Jordan as well this offseason,” Doubs said. “I got with him plenty of times. I met Steve (Calhoun) going into my senior year of college, so I’ve been around him for quite a while.”
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