Bears

Bears DE Dayo Odeyingbo had his first year with Chicago cut short after eight games when he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury, but he’s been available already at this point in the offseason. Bears HC Ben Johnson admitted they were surprised that Odeyingbo is already back on the field and praised his participation in meetings.

“This is really a bonus for us,” Johnson said, via Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic. “We weren’t quite sure when we started the offseason program that we would get him for any length of time. But the fact that he’s on the field, he wants to be out there, it’s just another step forward in terms of him gaining confidence again. And how he’s moving.”

“He’s done a great job being attentive in meetings. And I know he was really itching to get back out there with his teammates. So it’s a step in the right direction for sure.”

Lions

Lions DC Kelvin Sheppard feels the depth and versatility at the cornerback position are strengths on that side of the ball. Because of this, Sheppard talked about wanting to utilize the nickel position more, which has been mostly Roger McCreary on the first team after Amik Robertson left in free agency.

“We are planning to utilize the nickel position more,” Sheppard said, via the team’s website. “We have a lot of candidates that we’ve been logging into that role. Who is that going to be? There’s a lot of question marks right now.”

Sheppard also loves the high-quality looks the defense is seeing from new OC Drew Petzing.

“I’ll tell you right now Drew Petzing has come in here this spring and has shown us so many different looks. Things that I’m telling you we did not even begin to discuss (last year) until we got to the season. There’s conversations being had right now in the spring because of what they’ve presented offensively.”

Packers

Packers S Evan Williams is entering the third year of his career after being a fourth-round pick in 2024. Green Bay S Xavier McKinney reflected on his first impression of Williams, mentioning that he dropped the first ball thrown to him in his first practice on the team. 

“I think the very first practice we had, he tried to come out there with no gloves on, and the very first ball they threw to him in indy (individual drills), he dropped it,” McKinney said, via Mike Spofford of the team’s official site. “I’m like, ah, this guy gonna have a hard frickin’ time.”

Williams said McKinney has proven to be a great mentor and has taught him to be “intentional” in everything he does. 

“He’s mostly taught me just about the everyday habits that make him who he is,” Williams said. “A lot of people don’t see the behind the scenes and how intentional he is during practices. That was definitely one thing that stood out to me when I first got here. In every walk-through, he’s taking that thing serious, right? He’s making sure he’s exactly where he needs to be aligned, going through assignment, going through his keys … getting full reps in a walk-through.”

As for playing under new DC Jonathan Gannon, McKinney said their relationship has already “grown a lot.” 

“It’s grown a lot,” McKinney said. “I think you’re going to see it at its peak, like its peak performance, especially this year.”