NFC North

There has been no shortage of questions about whether the Chicago Bears have surrounded Justin Fields with enough impact talent on offense, but the second-year quarterback isn't concerned about any outside noise.

"We don't have an Odell [Beckham Jr.] or a Cooper Kupp on our team, but at the end of the day I think if everybody is on their P's and Q's, and we're on top of everything and not making mistakes, the players we have right now are good enough," he told Bleacher Report in an exclusive interview. "The front office thinks that, too. The fans outside of the facility, they don't know what's going on at practice. Just because we don't have a big-name guy, doesn't mean those guys aren't talented. I have plenty of confidence in myself and my teammates that we're going to get the job done."

That confidence figures to be key because Chicago lost Allen Robinson in free agency to the Los Angeles Rams, didn't add any high-profile wide receivers to replace him and used its first two draft picks on defensive players in Washington cornerback Kyler Gordon and Penn State safety Jaquan Brisker.

While Gordon and Brisker could both be excellent players, it was notable a franchise that so desperately needs Fields to reach his potential to be a long-term contender in the NFC focused on the defensive side of the ball after its free agency additions on offense were more secondary playmakers such as wide receivers Equanimeous St. Brown and Byron Pringle.

There is also remaining uncertainty about the offensive line, but a different and more confident Fields compared to this time last year when he was an incoming rookie behind temporary placeholder Andy Dalton can elevate the Bears' ceiling.

"I'm more comfortable this year," he said. "I kind of know what's coming and know what to expect. … Me not knowing if I'm going to be the leader of the team or not last year compared to this year means a whole different mindset. Just comfortability and knowing that I'm going to be the guy and that this is my team is definitely a different mindset as I try to be a leader for everybody on the team."

Fields eventually took over for Dalton last year and was somewhat inconsistent as a rookie while completing 58.9 percent of his passes for 1,870 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions, but he also flashed some of his potential and playmaking ability with his arm on deep balls and his legs with multiple spectacular runs.

It will be up to Chicago's new coaching staff to unlock the potential that was on display at times in 2021.

The Bears hired head coach Matt Eberflus this offseason to replace the fired Matt Nagy, who had just one winning season in four years with the team. They also hired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, who spent the previous three seasons as the quarterbacks coach for one of the all-time greats in Aaron Rodgers and the rival Green Bay Packers.

Nagy's play-calling drew plenty of criticism, especially when he failed to design the offense around Fields, but Eberflus previously told reporters he plans on "building the offense around him and his strengths."

Fields is a fan of the new coaching staff both on and off the field.

"It's been awesome," he said. "They're great coaches, of course, but also great people. We spent a little bit of time together; we actually went golfing together. Just kind of getting to know those guys away from the facility and getting to know them more on a personal level was awesome."

The new coaching staff also gives the Ohio State product an opportunity to become more of a leader himself.

"Be a coach on the field," he said when asked about his biggest individual goal of the offseason. "Of course we have a new offense this year, and the only person who really knows the whole offense is the offensive coordinator. Even the coaches are learning the offense. Just being a coach on the field and being able to control everything and have everything going smoothly out there."

One thing he believes will help him be a coach on the field is his partnership with C4 Energy.

He teamed up with the company for its "Ignite Your Fire" campaign that strives to unlock full athletic potential both on a physical and mental level.

"That's the cool thing about C4," Fields said. "It's not just a physical thing where you use preworkout, but they also have drinks to maximize your mental capacity, too. So when I'm having a hard workout and I still have two hours of meetings left to go, I usually drink one of those, and it keeps me locked in. So it's awesome being able to work with a company that treats both physical and mental health."

He figures to need that additional energy given the way he and wide receiver Darnell Mooney have trained together this offseason.

Mooney is Chicago's clear-cut No. 1 option heading into the 2022 season and showed immediate rapport with Fields. He registered 81 catches for 1,055 yards and four touchdowns in 2021. It was the wide receiver's second year in the league, and he could be in line for a jump if his quarterback is to be believed.

"How hard he works," Fields said when discussing what stands out about Mooney. "He's already talented; he's fast and has great hands. On top of that, he works harder than anybody I know other than myself. A couple nights ago, we were in the facility until 12:30 a.m. going through plays and walking through plays for the next day at practice."

The Bears will need another receiver to deliver this season if that type of commitment leads to better production and double teams for Mooney.

One candidate is Velus Jones Jr., whom the Bears selected out of Tennessee with a third-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft. He tallied 62 catches for 807 yards and seven touchdowns in his final season with the Volunteers, all while he was also used as a speedy kick and punt returner.

"At rookie minicamp there was one play that stood out to me, he had a 10-yard dig route in and caught it and hit that second gear kick for a touchdown," Fields said. "I think he caught it at 10 yards and took it 60, so he's a great run-after-the-catch guy. He's going to pick up a lot of yards and is physical. He's almost like a running back at receiver. Having him on the outside and putting the ball in his hands and letting him work will be great."

So while Fields doesn't have a Beckham or Kupp at his disposal, there is some potential for dynamic plays with the Mooney and Jones pairing.

They will be facing a schedule that includes matchups against a number of Fields' fellow 2021 quarterback draftees, including Trey Lance's San Francisco 49ers, Mac Jones' New England Patriots, Zach Wilson's New York Jets and Davis Mills' Houston Texans.

But don't expect that to serve as any extra motivation for the Bears' leader.

"I don't care who we're playing. I'm just trying to win," he said.

Chicago fans will be on board with that plan.

It appears former Chicago Bears quarterback Nick Foles won't be spending much time as a free agent. 

The Indianapolis Colts are "working to add" Foles, according to The Athletic's Zak Keefer, who added it's possible the veteran quarterback will pen to paper by next week.

Colts head coach Frank Reich told reporters last week that the franchise would be interested in adding a veteran to back up Matt Ryan, whom the team acquired from the Atlanta Falcons this offseason.

Adding Foles would make a lot of sense, as he won Super Bowl LII as Philadelphia's starting quarterback with Reich as his offensive coordinator. In addition, the Colts just have Sam Ehlinger and James Morgan behind Ryan on the depth chart. Neither has attempted a pass during the regular season.

After winning the Super Bowl, Foles played one more season in Philly before signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who traded him to the Bears in March 2020. He spent the 2019 season in Jacksonville, completing 65.8 percent of his passes for 736 yards and three touchdowns against two interceptions in four starts. 

Foles has spent each of the last two seasons in Chicago, sharing time at quarterback with Justin Fields, Mitchell Trubisky and Andy Dalton. In 10 games across those two seasons, including eight starts, he completed 65.1 percent of his passes for 2,102 yards and 11 touchdowns against eight interceptions. 

If the Colts fail to add Foles, there are still a number of veteran free-agent quarterbacks available, including Ryan Fitzpatrick, Cam Newton and Mike Glennon. That said, Foles is arguably the best available. 

The Colts finished the 2021 season with a 9-8 record. Indy hasn't made a deep playoff run since 2014, when it lost the AFC title game, but Ryan could be the one to get the team back to the promised land this coming season. 

Green Bay Packers star quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been absent from offseason workouts, but the team isn't concerned.

"Aaron doesn't need reps at this time of year," quarterbacks coach Tom Clements said Thursday. "Obviously, it'd be nice to have him here, but he's seen these things a thousand times and he'll be ready to go when training camps start."

Rodgers signed a massive contract extension in March, alleviating any perceived tension between him and the Packers.

Green Bay is set to begin OTAs this Monday, and the sessions will run until mid-June, with mandatory minicamp set for June 7-9. The Packers are set to look different this year after the departures of key players, including star receiver Davante Adams.

The two-time first-team All-Pro wideout was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders for 2022 first- and second-round picks. With the loss of Rodgers' favorite target, Clements believes now is the perfect time for the younger players to get acclimated to the offense:

"I think it's best for them to learn what's going on so they're ready to go in training camp. Because this time of year, they're learning, making mistakes, learning from their mistakes, so hopefully when training camp comes they're ready to do their best, and I think that they'll be enough time at that time for Aaron to work with them."

Rodgers won his second consecutive NFL MVP award last season. It's clear that he doesn't need OTAs in order to be successful during the year, and the team is confident he'll be prepared this summer.

"He's just at a different stage of his career now where he's taking care of himself and working on what he thinks he needs to work on physically," Clements said, "And he looked good when I saw him, so he'll be ready to go."

Linebacker Roquan Smith is arguably the Chicago Bears' best player, and the team is reportedly making his long-term future a priority as he enters the final year of his contract.

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported contract talks are expected to "heat up some time this summer" between the team and Smith with other Bears players who are approaching free agency under the impression the linebacker is "the priority" for new general manager Ryan Poles.

That Smith would be a focus for a new front office trying to build a consistent winner comes as no surprise.

After all, he is just 25 years old and earned back-to-back second-team All-Pro nods. The No. 8 overall pick of the 2018 NFL draft posted 163 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, three sacks, three passes defended and an interception he returned for a touchdown during the 2022 campaign.

Smith has also been durable and appeared in at least 12 games in each of his four seasons in the league. The only year he missed any time was when he played 12 games in 2019.

He seems to be well on his way to becoming the next great Bears linebacker in a long history that includes Mike Singletary, Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and Dick Butkus, among others.

The Georgia product has also been a steady force and bright spot for a franchise that has trended in the wrong direction since it went 12-4 in his rookie season. That was the last time the Bears finished above .500, and they are coming off a 6-11 effort in 2021.

There are some young building blocks in place for Poles, including second-year quarterback Justin Fields, but Smith is already a proven commodity who figures to remain in his prime for the foreseeable future.

He is exactly the type of player the new front office can build around, and it seems it is doing what it can to keep the star linebacker around as Chicago attempts to compete in the NFC North.           

The Chicago Bears are reportedly adding Nathan Peterman to their quarterback room for the 2022 season. 

Per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, Peterman will sign a one-year deal with the Bears, joining Justin Fields and Trevor Siemian. 

Peterman has overcome a disastrous start to his NFL career to become a reliable backup option. He spent the past three seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders after originally joining their practice squad in December 2018. 

Playing behind Derek Carr didn't afford Peterman many opportunities to see the field. The 28-year-old appeared in one game in each of the past two seasons, but he didn't throw a pass in 2021. 

Prior to joining the Raiders, Peterman began his career with the Buffalo Bills. He was a fifth-round draft pick out of the University of Pittsburgh in 2017. He started four games in his first two years before being replaced by Josh Allen in Week 2 of the 2018 season.

In his first career start against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 11 of the 2017 season, Peterman threw five interceptions in the first half and was replaced by Tyrod Taylor in the second half. The Florida native finished the game 6-of-14 for 66 yards and five interceptions. 

The Bears are attempting to build around Fields. New head coach Matt Eberflus and general manager Ryan Poles are also in the process of rebuilding the roster after the team finished 6-11 last season and has missed the playoffs in nine of the past 11 years. 

Peterman is the second free-agent quarterback the Bears have signed this offseason. They signed Siemian, who spent last season with the New Orleans Saints, to a two-year contract in March. 

Fields should be Chicago's starting quarterback in 2022. Siemian and Peterman will likely compete during training camp and preseason to determine who will be the team's No. 2 when the regular season begins.     

The Green Bay Packers selected three wide receivers during the 2022 NFL draft, but they may not be done adding at the position.

During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport highlighted Odell Beckham Jr., Julio Jones and Jarvis Landry as potential fits for the NFC North team, although he wasn't sure if there was mutual interest for Landry.

"All those guys would make sense for Green Bay, who I would say might add another receiver at some point," he said.

Wide receiver was an obvious position of need for the Packers heading into the draft considering they traded superstar Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders and lost Marquez Valdes-Scantling to the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency.

While they passed on adding one with either of their two first-round picks, they drafted North Dakota State's Christian Watson in the second round, Nevada's Romeo Doubs in the fourth round and Nebraska's Samori Toure in the seventh round.

They all bring upside, especially in the case of Watson, but trusting any of them to come close to making up for the loss of Adams or Valdes-Scantling as rookies for a Super Bowl contender may also be unwise.

It follows, then, that Green Bay would be interested in more proven veterans such as Beckham, Jones and Landry.

Beckham is coming off a torn ACL he suffered in the Los Angeles Rams' Super Bowl victory, but the three-time Pro Bowler has five seasons with more than 1,000 yards on his resume and once again looked the part of a major contributor with five touchdown catches in eight regular season games for the Rams.

He also caught a touchdown in the Super Bowl win prior to the injury.

Elsewhere, Jones is a future Hall of Famer with a resume that includes seven Pro Bowl selections, two All-Pro nods and two seasons when he led the league in receiving yards. He isn't far removed from his seventh season with more than 1,100 receiving yards in 2019 and will surely be motivated to bounce back from the career-worst 434 receiving yards he finished with in 2021 for the Tennessee Titans.

Landry may not be as big of a name as Jones or Beckham, but the five-time Pro Bowler could be a veteran leader and playmaker in the slot for a Packers team that may be a game-changing receiver away from delivering on realistic Super Bowl aspirations.          

Perhaps Davante Adams' departure from Titletown to Las Vegas becomes a blessing in disguise for the Green Bay Packers. Of course, no team wants to trade away its best wide receiver and two-time All-Pro, but now the Packers must transform their offense, which may lead to optimal playoff results. 

The Las Vegas Raiders won the trade with Green Bay. They gave up a first-round pick (No. 22 overall) and a second-rounder (No. 53) for arguably the league's top wideout, and he'll fill a major need for them. Nonetheless, the Packers' post-Adams plan may change their identity for the better and extend quarterback Aaron Rodgers' career. 

Surprisingly, the Packers didn't use either of their first-round picks on a wide receiver. They selected inside linebacker Quay Walker and defensive end Devonte Wyatt. Both defenders played in one of the best defenses in college football history.

Walker will line up alongside All-Pro linebacker De'Vondre Campbell as an immediate playmaker against the run. He's a sure tackler who diagnoses plays quickly, which allows him to make stops all over the field. Wyatt can disrupt the opposing team's passing game at the line of scrimmage. In a rotational role, he recorded seven tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks last season.

Green Bay didn't have a clear-cut starter to pair with Campbell, and the front office tried to patch up its interior run defense in free agency with defensive tackle Jarran Reed, who signed a one-year deal. 

Walker and Wyatt will strengthen a run defense that allowed the third-most yards per rush attempt (4.7) last season. They're the potential missing links for an otherwise solid defense that ranked 13th in scoring and ninth in yards allowed last season. 

The Packers selected wide receivers Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs in the second and fourth rounds of the 2022 draft, correspondingly. Based on draft status, rookie seventh-rounder Samori Toure will likely need time to develop in the pros. We shouldn't expect any of them to make a leap from the collegiate level to the top three spots on the depth chart. 

Rodgers has a rapport with wideouts Randall Cobb and Allen Lazard. Per Pat McAfee, he's excited about the addition of Sammy Watkins, who brings eight years of pro experience. 

However, Rodgers cannot rely on any of those veteran receivers on a weekly basis. Cobb and Watkins have seen their receiving numbers decline every year since 2019. The former turns 32 years old in August, and the latter hasn't played through a full season since his 2014 rookie term, missing at least four games in three of the last four years. Both wideouts have just one 1,000-plus-yard campaign on their resumes.

At 6'5", 227 pounds, Lazard has great size for the red zone and recorded eight touchdown catches last year, but he doesn't have more than 40 receptions or 513 receiving yards in any of his four seasons. 

Overall, the Packers have a solid stable of wideouts, though no one jumps out as Pro Bowl or All-Pro talent this year. Green Bay probably won't field a top-10 passing offense for the upcoming season, but Rodgers will have an array of targets from well-seasoned veterans to high-upside rookies. 

Head coach Matt LaFleur knows how to transform the Packers offense following Adams' departure, and he has the personnel to do it. 

Remember, LaFleur broke into the pro coaching ranks with the Houston Texans as an offensive quality control assistant under former NFL head coach Gary Kubiak and served as an offensive coordinator on Sean McVay's Los Angeles Rams staff. Both lead skippers have relied on an effective ground attack as a staple in their offenses.

Moreover, while the offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans in 2018, LaFleur saw running back Derrick Henry's emergence in a featured role and how he stabilized the offense despite quarterback Marcus Mariota's modest passing numbers and issues with durability. 

In the Packers backfield, running backs Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon combined for 1,602 rushing yards and nine touchdowns while averaging 4.5 yards per carry last year. They could lead the way for a more balanced and physical offensive attack behind a rock-solid offensive line. 

Two-time All-Pro tackle David Bakhtiari, left guard Jon Runyan and center Josh Myers project as starters for the upcoming campaign. Once Elgton Jenkins recovers from a torn ACL, he'll likely fill the right tackle spot. Green Bay also added Sean Rhyan and Zach Tom in the third and fourth rounds of the 2022 draft, respectively. The rookie offensive linemen offer versatility in case the coaching staff has to shuffle the unit because of injuries as it did in 2021. They could challenge Royce Newman for his spot at right guard.

With a stronger ground attack, the Packers can extend Rodgers' career, which should be one of their objectives after they made him the highest-paid player in NFL history at 38 years old. 

Despite all the accolades on Rodgers' resume—four-time league MVP, four-time All-Pro and 10-time Pro Bowler—he's 11-10 as a primary starter in the playoffs with only one Super Bowl title. We shouldn't count win-loss records as quarterback stats, but clearly the Packers have underperformed in postseason action with one of the best signal-callers in the game.

Green Bay has to do something different to go beyond NFC North titles and early playoff exits. Without Adams, the team should revert to an approach that worked in 2010 when the Packers hoisted the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the campaign.

That season, Green Bay's defense allowed the second-fewest points and ranked fifth in yards allowed. Rodgers had a decent but not spectacular year, throwing for 3,922 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He didn't make a Pro Bowl or All-Pro roster that year.

Though the Packers' rushing attack ranked 24th in yards during that term, they outrushed three of their four postseason opponents.

Green Bay didn't outgain the Pittsburgh Steelers on the ground in Super XLV, but its defense forced three turnovers, which certainly impacted the outcome of the game. 

Since that Super Bowl year, the Packers haven't ranked top 10 in points and yards allowed in a season, but they can change that with the current roster and bring along an effective ground game to cover any rough patches in the aerial attack.

With home games at the Frozen Tundra, Green Bay should be suited to play a physical brand of football.

As the No. 1 seed, the Packers lost their last two postseason games to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and San Francisco 49ers in the trenches. Green Bay's special teams unit deserves some blame for the loss to San Francisco, but Rodgers took five sacks in both defeats.

Three years ago, in the NFC Championship Game, San Francisco ran for 285 yards on Green Bay's defense at Levi's Stadium. Adams caught nine passes for 138 yards, but the Packers couldn't stop running back Raheem Mostert, who put cleat marks on the face of their defensive front with 220 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

This year, the Packers can flip the script and change their playoff fortunes with an aggressive attack-style defense and a ground attack that rips off chunk yardage on the road or in the elements at Lambeau Field in January.

While the offensive execution won't look as fluid and finesse in comparison to years past, Rodgers would probably trade in a 40-plus-touchdown season and an MVP award for another Super Bowl ring with a hard-nosed physical football team.

College football statistics are provided by cfbstats.com.        

Maurice Moton covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @MoeMoton.