NFC North

Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields is aiming to find a comfort zone in the offense being installed by new head coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.

"I hope that they will just tailor the plays to my skill set, which we're going to do," Fields told reporters Tuesday. "So just finding out what I do best, what we do best as an offense, what we do best as a team, and run that offense."

The 2021 first-round pick put together some highlight-reel moments as a rookie, but his overall numbers across 12 games (10 starts) were underwhelming.

Fields completed 58.9 percent of his throws for 1,870 yards with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He added 420 rushing yards and two scores on the ground, but he fumbled 12 times, five of which resulted in a loss of possession.

The 23-year-old Ohio State product ranked last among 31 qualified quarterbacks in ESPN's Total QBR and received a lackluster 64.2 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.

Finding a way to turn Fields' raw dual-threat talent into consistent NFL production is the single biggest task facing Eberflus, Getsy and the rest of the offensive staff.

As he showed with the Buckeyes in 2019, when he threw 41 touchdown passes and just three interceptions, he's at his best when operating from the pocket while using the ground game as an escape mechanism when under pressure. It makes him more similar to Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen than Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts from a stylistic standpoint.

Fields is confident the lessons learned during his up-and-down debut campaign will help him in 2022.

"I have a lot more knowledge now," he said Tuesday. "Going through a whole season, you learn a lot of things and you start incorporating things in your routine to make you a better football player."

The question is whether there's enough talent around him in the passing game to truly thrive. The Bears' top three targets are penciled in as wide receivers Darnell Mooney and Byron Pringle along with tight end Cole Kmet.

Chicago doesn't own a first-round pick in the 2022 draft but has two selections in the second round. Using one of them on a receiver would be a step in the right direction.

All told, Fields has the skill set to develop into a Pro Bowl-level quarterback, but it's going to take an offense more tailored to his strengths and more big-play weapons around him in the coming years.

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said quarterback Justin Fields is in a "great spot" as he learns the team's new offense.

Eberflus made the comments about Fields' comfort level on the Cris Collinsworth Podcast (h/t Bears senior writer Larry Mayer): 

I think he's in a great spot. He's been meeting with the offensive staff, and he feels very comfortable in this offense. This is a rhythm-and-timing offense. It's based in the west coast system. It's going to be very quarterback-friendly for him. It's been quarterback-friendly for a lot of guys in the past.

You can see the way that it's coached, the rhythm and timing of it, of the passing game, is really going to help him understand when to get rid of the ball, what his progressions are. He's going to have a clear understanding of what the offense is. And he's really doing a good job right now of grasping that and helping to teach it to the other players as well.

The former Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator was hired as the Bears' new head coach in January. He replaced Matt Nagy, who was let go after the 2021 season. Ex-Green Bay Packers quarterbacks coach Luke Getsy will be the Bears' offensive coordinator.

Getsy has previously said how important it is to build the offense around the quarterback in a conversation with Mayer in February:

He's the decision-maker on every single play. Whether it's the decision between, 'let's run plan A versus play B,' or adjusting the protection or going through a progression, he's got decisions to make on every single play that other people don't have that affect the game. This game is built around the ball. Turnovers are the No. 1 dictator of who wins the football game, so if he has the ball and he's the decision-maker, that's got to be the starting point.

The Bears' voluntary offseason program began April 4, and a three-day voluntary minicamp will start next Tuesday.

"He's excited to get started," Eberflus said regarding Fields. "This is his football team, and he's excited to get going with the guys, and you can feel that as we go through this process of just getting together as a team and getting to know each other."

Fields will enter this season as the QB1 after Andy Dalton initially led the depth chart last year. He went No. 11 overall in the 2021 NFL draft, completing 58.9 percent of his passes for seven touchdowns (10 interceptions) and 1,870 passing yards in 12 games (10 starts). The former Ohio State star also rushed for 420 yards and two scores.

Minnesota Vikings star Dalvin Cook will wear No. 4 this season after making a promise to his late father, per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk.

Cook wore No. 4 while at Florida State but has been No. 33 during his five-year NFL career.

The league changed its rules last season that restricted what numbers players could wear, although those who made the switch had to buy out the remaining inventory of unsold jerseys. Cook considered making a change last offseason but changed his mind after reportedly having to pay $1.5 million, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

The 26-year-old will now make the change without penalty.

"Mentally, I'm better when I'm wearing 4," he told reporters Tuesday.

Cook has earned Pro Bowl selections in each of the past three years, yet he promised an improvement with a new jersey number.

"You're going to see another version you've never seen before," Cook said. "Something special."

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is reportedly expected to skip all of the team's voluntary offseason workouts ahead of the 2022 NFL season.

Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Tuesday (via Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk) that Rodgers' only attendance prior to training camp will be the Packers' mandatory minicamp in June.

The update doesn't come as much of a surprise. At 38, Rodgers doesn't need the extra offseason reps. He proved that last season when he stayed away from the franchise for the entire offseason amid a flurry of trade rumors before returning for the start of camp and winning his second straight NFL MVP Award.

No such standoff between the 10-time Pro Bowl selection and the Packers exists this year after he agreed to a new three-year, $150.8 million contract.

His absence from the voluntary activities will also give Green Bay an opportunity to get 2020 first-round pick Jordan Love more work within the offense.

Making such a significant investment in Love made it seemed like the Packers were planning on a transition at the sport's most important position, but Rodgers has continued to play at such a high level that his understudy has become an afterthought.

If Green Bay is going to stick with Rodgers for the long haul, and it certainly appears that's the case and rightfully so, the best thing that can happen is for Love to have strong showings throughout the offseason, training camp and exhibition contests to build trade value.

Packers CEO Mark Murphy told Packast's Tom Grossi (via Nick Shook of NFL.com) they want to see more from the 23-year-old Utah State product to gauge his development.

"We think he can be a good player, but we haven't seen enough," Murphy said. "So I think this preseason will be good for him."

Recouping some value on Love in a trade with a quarterback-needy team next offseason seems like the logical next step, especially if Rodgers continues to contend for MVP Awards, but the backup must show some upside after very limited snaps over his first two years.

Meanwhile, there may be some talk about the type of message Rodgers not taking part in voluntary activities sends to the rest of the roster, but that's nothing more than offseason banter.

The Packers are in good shape as long as he's under center for Week 1 in September.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins said Monday he signed an extension with the Minnesota Vikings with an eye toward retiring as a member of the franchise.

"My mindset was really to be a Viking," Cousins told reporters. "I would like to retire as a Viking, and so I would like to play my way into that, if you will. I know I've got to earn the right to do that."

The 33-year-old QB's new contract runs through 2023 and includes a $34.1 million cap hit for 2022 and a $36.3 million cap hit for the following season.

Cousins is a tough case to analyze because his raw stats, which are typically strong, don't always match up with the outside view of his performance.

The Michigan State product has completed 68.3 percent of his passes for 16,387 yards with 124 touchdowns and just 36 interceptions in 63 games across four years as the Vikes' starter. Those numbers aren't indicative of someone on the hot seat.

Yet he's never ranked above 13th in ESPN's Total QBR over that span, and Minnesota has only qualified for the playoffs once during his tenure. The team's record is 33-31-1 since 2018.

The question is whether Cousins isn't a game-changing quarterback or if the Vikings haven't surrounded him with enough talent to emerge as a Super Bowl contender. Perhaps it's a combination of both.

The three-time Pro Bowl selection said Monday he wants his play to provide the answer.

"If I could draw it up, it'd be, 'Play well enough that you never have to play or wear another jersey anywhere else,'" Cousins said. "I'm going to work really hard to try to make that possible."

The former Washington Commanders starter said proving he's the right person for the job starts with elevating his all-around performance on a consistent basis.

"It's staying healthy, it's playing at a high level, it's protecting the football, it's making plays, it's leading your teammates, it's playing with poise, toughness, all the things it takes to be a great quarterback," Cousins said.

The Vikings feature the playmaking talent to rank among the NFL's top offenses, led by running back Dalvin Cook and wide receivers Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen and K.J. Osborn.

It's an important year for Cousins if he wants to eliminate uncertainty about his future in Minnesota. Anything less than a playoff appearance would be a disappointment.

For Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell, the absence of an elite quarterback doesn't have to hold the team back.

"No, I don’t think you need that," he told reporters. "I think that those guys like that are, obviously, they’re special. And they certainly can give you a better chance. But no, I don’t believe you have to have one of those guys to have sustained success."

Campbell might be singing a different tune if the Lions had Patrick Mahomes or Aaron Rodgers pegged as their Week 1 starter instead of Jared Goff.

Extolling the necessity of an All-Pro QB would not only undermine Goff but also send a message to the players that their head coach doesn't exactly believe in them.

Campbell's comments weren't without some truth, though.

The San Francisco 49ers reached a Super Bowl in 2019 with Jimmy Garoppolo. The Denver Broncos were crowned champions in 2015 despite relying on leaning on Brock Osweiler and the shell of what once was Peyton Manning. Nick Foles guided the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl victory over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in 2017.

Ben Roethlisberger is a two-time champion, but those titles came at a point in his career when he wasn't yet a prolific passer. Likewise, nobody could ever decide how good Eli Manning actually was, and he beat Brady twice in the Super Bowl.

At the same time, there's no question that having a merely pretty good QB instead of a top-shelf signal-caller can lower your margin for error.

The 49ers might have won that aforementioned Super Bowl if they had someone a little better than Garoppolo, who finished 20-of-31 for 219 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in a 31-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Goff is another clear example. The Los Angeles Rams couldn't get over the hump with the two-time Pro Bowler, who was clearly regressing. They go out and get Matthew Stafford from the Detroit Lions and then win it all.

There's a reason why the 10 highest-paid players in the NFL are all quarterbacks.

To some degree, though, Campbell's comments should be encouraging for fans.

For more than a decade, the Lions had one of the 10 best quarterbacks in the league and look where it got them.

Like clockwork, Stafford would throw for more than 4,000 yards and Detroit would either fail to win a postseason game or miss the playoffs altogether. His presence wasn't enough to compensate for all of the bad coaching hires and all of the bad draft picks.

This time around, maybe Campbell can first build the kind of foundation that allows an incoming quarterback to thrive.

The Las Vegas Raiders acquired Davante Adams from the Green Bay Packers in exchange for a 2022 first-round pick and a 2022 second-rounder, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

As part of the trade, Adams will sign a five-year, $141.25 million contract, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

This comes after the Packers placed the franchise tag on Adams earlier this month after the two sides were unable to reach a long-term deal. However, he reportedly informed the team earlier this week he wouldn't play under the tag.

According to Rob Demovsky of ESPN, Green Bay was willing to offer Adams the same contract as Las Vegas, but the wideout "preferred to play elsewhere."

Rapoport also noted that quarterback Aaron Rodgers—who recently signed a reported three-year, $150.8 million contract—was aware that Adams would not be returning to the team:

Adams has been the NFL's most productive receiver of the past half-decade, creating a connection with Rodgers that has allowed him to thrive despite a constantly changing group of fellow pass-catchers around him in Green Bay.

The 29-year-old ranks second in receptions (506), first in receiving yards (6,195) and first in touchdown catches (57) over the past five years.

Adams is coming off a 2021 season in which he posted career-high totals in catches (123) and yards (1,553) while finding the end zone 11 times in 16 games.

In December, Rodgers called his favorite target the "best player I've played with," a sentiment the Fresno State product deeply appreciated:

To see that he acknowledges it at that level, there's really not any words I can put together to say how much it means to me. It just continues to push me. I think with certain people, hearing stuff like that, being the best, whether it's in general or the best a certain player of a certain magnitude has played with, there's two responses, typically: You either fall back and get comfortable, because you feel like you've reached a certain point, or it drives you. And I feel like it continues to push me.

Adams has never featured blazing speed by NFL standards—he posted a 4.56-second 40-yard dash at the 2014 Scouting Combine—but his combination of agility, route-running skills and hands have allowed him to build a Hall of Fame resume. Those traits tend to endure, which gives him a great chance to remain a high-impact player well into his 30s.

He's already earned five Pro Bowl appearances and two first-team All-Pro selections across eight seasons with the Packers.

Adams' move to the Raiders marks the second straight offseason one of the top receivers of the generation switched teams. Julio Jones was traded to the Tennessee Titans last year.

Like Jones, it'll take a while to get used to seeing the California native in a new jersey.

The veteran wide receiver will slot in as the top target for Derek Carr alongside wideout Hunter Renfrow and tight end Darren Waller.

Meanwhile, the Packers now have a massive void to fill at wide receiver while still trying to settle the future of Rodgers, who likely won't be happy about his longtime teammate's exit.

The Green Bay Packers and quarterback Aaron Rodgers officially put pen to paper on a new contract, the team announced Tuesday.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero first reported the deal was done.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tom Silverstein reported Rodgers will account for $28 million against the salary cap in 2022. Rapoport provided more detail:

Rapoport added Rodgers will get $150.6 million guaranteed in a deal that will pay him $74.5 million in the first new year and $62 million in the second.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero provided a full breakdown of the guaranteed money involved:

It was initially reported by Rapoport on March 8 that Rodgers' new deal was worth $200 million over four years and includes $153 million guaranteed. The veteran announced that a new contract had not yet been signed.

The 38-year-old's new contract could potentially make him the highest-paid player in the NFL, surpassing Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes' $45 million-per-year deal.

Despite a tumultuous 2021 season that included controversy regarding his vaccination status, Rodgers won his second consecutive MVP award after throwing for 4,115 yards and 37 touchdowns in 16 starts. 

The announced deal ends months of speculation surrounding his future. After the Packers fell 13-10 to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional Round, he indicated that he would take some time this offseason to decide what his next move would be. Many wondered if he would choose to retire or request a trade instead of returning to the Packers.

Now that Rodgers is officially back in the fold, Green Bay can look to address other needs that will help the team compete for a title this coming season. The Packers used their franchise tag on star wide receiver Davante Adams, who is the quarterback's favorite target in the passing game.

Rodgers will look to lead Green Bay to its first title since the lone championship win of his storied career at Super Bowl XLV in 2011.

The idea of trading quarterback Jordan Love reportedly isn't "gaining traction" for the Green Bay Packers despite the return of Aaron Rodgers.

ESPN's Adam Schefter discussed Love's status Wednesday on Get Up! after Rodgers announced Tuesday he planned to remain with the Packers:

I'm not expecting that right now. Look, this could change during the course of the offseason, but I don't know that there's another team out there that could wind up giving Green Bay enough value to make them want to move on from him, and we don't know if Aaron Rodgers is playing one or two more years, and Green Bay probably still likes Jordan Love as its QB of the future. He probably has more value to the Packers than he does to other teams, and I haven't heard anything of the sort that he's available or that teams are looking into him. Now, again, in this league, as we know, anything is always possible. Never rule out anything. But I haven't heard any conversation of that sort with that sort of issue gaining traction so far.

Green Bay selected Love with the No. 26 overall pick in the 2020 draft. Since then, Rodgers has won back-to-back regular-season NFL MVP Awards and led the team to a pair of NFC North titles while going 26-6 as the starter.

The 10-time Pro Bowl selection has shown no significant signs of physical decline despite turning 38 in December, and the Packers will likely continue to bring him back as their starter as long as he's willing to stay. Tom Brady played at an elite level until his retirement in February at 44.

In turn, Love's outlook is clouded, and it's fair to wonder what Green Bay could receive in a trade given this year's mostly mundane groups of free agents and draft prospects at the sport's most important position.

The 23-year-old Utah State product drew his first career start in 2021 while Rodgers was sidelined on the reserve/COVID-19 list. He completed 19 of his 34 throws for 190 yards with one touchdown and one interception in a 13-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. He added 23 rushing yards.

It's impossible to make any conclusions based on a single appearance, though. Love acknowledged afterward that he wasn't in tune with top target Davante Adams on multiple occasions in that contest, a common issue for backup signal-callers.

"It's something that takes time, being able to build that chemistry," Love told reporters. "Obviously, it's something him and Aaron have very well; they've been together for a while. So the chemistry wasn't there yet, but it's something that I think it would progress as the game went on. We were talking through some things and just getting on the same page."

The Packers would also have to weigh any trade offer against their need for a reliable backup quarterback given their status as a Super Bowl contender.

That factor is why Schefter referenced how Love could carry more value to Green Bay, even while sitting second on the depth chart, than he would bring back in a possible deal.

So there are a lot of variables in play, and if a team ends up missing out on its preferred option as part of the offseason quarterback carousel, it's possible a front office reaches out to Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst with an offer he can't refuse.

Barring that type of situation, however, Love will probably remain in Green Bay as the backup while playing out his team-friendly four-year, $12.4 million rookie contract.