Bears

Bears QB Caleb Williams spoke about second-round WR Luther Burden‘s breakout game and said that he will be a big part of the game plan moving forward for them.

“As you all know, as Luther said, if you get the ball in his hands, it’s a problem,” Williams said, via Bears Wire. “We always want to be able to get our guys the ball. And today I think Luther showed up big time for us. He’s continuing to grow. We’re excited for him and his growth. And I think being able to get him the ball builds a lot of confidence for him, a lot of trust between us and the coaches and myself as his QB, and we’re going to keep growing and he’s going to be a big playmaker for us.”

Despite a slow start, Bears DT Grady Jarrett isn’t worried about the pass rush doubting their ability to get to the quarterback: “We are not going to lose confidence.” (Mike Pendleton)
Chicago first-round TE Colston Loveland‘s hip injury is not said to be serious, and he’s expected to have a chance to play in Week 4. (Adam Schefter)

Packers

Packers RT Zach Tom missed Week 2 with an oblique injury, returned to practice last week, then lasted just one play against the Browns before being forced to leave the game. Tom believes that his injury is affecting his ability to get off the line of scrimmage. Packers HC Matt LaFleur admitted the team could have handled the situation better.

“More or less, it’s always hard to simulate what you’re going to face in a game,” LaFleur said via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. “You’d have to ask him, but I think that the force of the guy that he’s going against, it hurt him. He didn’t feel like he could go. We did our best in terms of trying to put them through enough and certainly had them going in practice, but still, the game’s a different speed.”

Tom is not expected to play Sunday night vs. the Cowboys due to his oblique injury. (Adam Schefter)

Vikings

The Vikings are coming off a big 48-10 victory over the Bengals in Week 3, where QB Carson Wentz recorded 173 yards and two touchdowns. When asked if J.J. McCarthy (ankle) will regain his starting role when he returns, HC Kevin O’Connell said they need to feel comfortable with his health before putting him back in games.

“First and foremost, he’s got to get healthy,” O’Connell said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN. “And then, I don’t think it’s one of those things where it’s, hey, he’s healthy the night before a game, we’re going to throw him out there and say, ‘Hey, go figure it out’ type of thing.”

O’Connell pointed out that McCarthy missed practice the week of their Week 2 loss to the Falcons, where he suffered his ankle injury.

“I think we saw, as phenomenal as he was getting prepared for the Atlanta game, he did miss practice that week,” O’Connell said. “And when you’re in the phase of building up the 10,000 reps and 10,000 hours of what it takes to play the position at a very high level, which we know J.J. McCarthy is going to do, you can’t cut corners on that. And that also doesn’t require an answer on that question today.”

O’Connell thinks McCarthy can learn from the sidelines, noting that footwork is an important part of how the quarterback operates.

“Sometimes, it’s the reactionary ability to still consistently play with the rhythm and the poise and the decision-making, and all that becomes much easier when you’re taking the right footwork and you’re balanced throughout the drop and reading with your feet. That can be an incredible weapon for a quarterback, whether they’ve played 20 years or they’ve played two games.”

Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers on the Vikings pursuing him over the offseason: “Things never progressed beyond catch-up conversations,” with O’Connell. (Ray Fittipaldo)

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