The most storied rivalry in football is generating some good stories.
After the Bears beat the Packers in the playoffs (it was only the third postseason meeting between the franchises), Chicago coach Ben Johnson declared in the locker room, “Fuck the Packers! Fuck them!” Addressing his reaction later, Johnson’s explanation was simple, “I don’t like that team.”
In a visit this week with PFT Live, Johnson was asked to elaborate.
“Who likes the Packers?” Johnson said.
The next question focused on whether Johnson is simply leaning into his job as head coach of the Bears, or whether he truly doesn’t like the Packers.
“The Bears and the Packers, they should not like each other,” Johnson said. “I think it’s as simple as that. And I think that’s gonna make this rivalry, this game, something that people are going to watch here going forward.”
He’s right about that. Even though the NFL tends to market itself, a WWE-style effort to stir things up a bit only makes an upcoming game more compelling. Case in point: Every network and streamer will be jockeying with 345 Park Avenue to televise one of the two games between Chicago and Green Bay during the 2026 season.
But there’s another side to it. Johnson has made Packers coach Matt LaFleur a periodic pin cushion, starting with Johnson’s introductory press conference more than a year ago. Within the high-turnover coaching industry, where relationships among coaches with other teams fuel future employment prospects, open hostility from one head coach to another is rare.
Johnson was asked whether he has talked to LaFleur, who seems to be confused by all of it.
“We don’t talk,” Johnson said.
Does he want it that way?
“I’m good with it.”
Has he tried to reach out?
“No.”
Bears fans love it. The YouTube version of the full interview and the social-media clips drew significant attention, with nearly 600,000 views. Chicago sports radio was buzzing.
So, yes, it’s good for business — ours and the NFL’s — for Johnson to embrace and to reflect the basic reality that the Bears and Packers should not like each other. In an age where players come and go far more often than they did in the days before free agency and the salary cap, the hatred the fans feel toward a rival isn’t shared by the men in uniform.
Johnson is taking a very different approach. To the delight of everyone in Chicago, and Bears fans everywhere.
The value of the next contract for quarterback Malik Willis remains to be seen. It will be driven ultimately by the number of suitors.
And the involvement, or not, of two potential franchises should say plenty about the broader market for Willis. Whether and to what extent the Dolphins and Cardinals pursue Willis will be a key litmus test as to his perceived potential as a full-time starter.
In Miami, two former Packers now run the show. And, as coach Jeff Hafley explained this week on PFT Live, he and G.M. Jon-Eric Sullivan are in close alignment. If they believe in Willis after two years of having full access to him, they’ll pursue him. If they don’t pursue him, they don’t believe.
Obviously, they need a quarterback. Willis would be a perfect fit particularly over the next two years, if a reasonable but fair contract can be negotiated during the cap wreckage of the Tua Tagovailoa deal. It all comes down to whether two men who were able to watch him, to study him, to get to know him for two entire football seasons believe he’s equipped to be a high-level, week-in, week-out starting quarterback.
Ditto for the Cardinals, indirectly. They need a quarterback. New coach Mike LaFleur’s brother, Matt, coached Willis for two years. Assuming Matt will share his views with Mike about Malik, Mike will act accordingly. Especially since Mike needs a quarterback, too.
That said, it’s possible Mike LaFleur will be overruled by G.M. Monti Ossenfort and/or owner Michael Bidwill (he’s the team president, after all) regarding Willis. It would be foolish to do so, but some teams do foolish things.
It would be potentially foolish for a team that doesn’t know Willis to pursue him if the Dolphins or Cardinals aren’t. Those are the two teams in the best position to know whether Willis is “the guy.” If they don’t believe it, it’s buyer beware for the other quarterback-needy teams.
The Packers have found their new special teams coordinator.
Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports that they will hire Cam Achord to fill that position on Matt LaFleur’s coaching staff. Rich Bisaccia stepped down in February after spending the last four seasons in Green Bay.
Achord spent the last two seasons as the assistant special teams coach for the Giants. He had a four-year run as the special teams coordinator in New England before moving on to the Giants and spent two other years as an assistant special teams coach for the Patriots.
The Packers will also have a new defensive coordinator in 2026. Jonathan Gannon was hired to fill that spot after Jeff Hafley left to become the head coach of the Dolphins.
Teams making decisions about picking up the fifth-year options on the contracts of their 2023 first-round picks now know how much that will cost.
The NFL revealed the values on Friday afternoon. There are four levels of compensation at each position. Players who have made multiple Pro Bowls as an original selection are at the top followed by players with one Pro Bowl selection and players who have hit playing time milestones before reaching the lowest level.
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young and Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud were the first two picks of that draft and both of them reached the playing time level of compensation. That will leave them with fully guaranteed salaries of $25.904 million if the teams decide to exercise the options, but longer-term extensions are also a possibility now that they have finished their third seasons.
The full list of 2023 first-rounders — there were 31 that year because the Dolphins were stripped of their pick — and their fifth-year option salaries appears below:
1. Panthers QB Bryce Young — $25.904 million (playing time).
2. Texans QB C.J. Stroud — $25.904 million (playing time).
3. Texans DE Will Anderson — $21.512 (Pro Bowl).
4. Colts QB Anthony Richardson — $22.483 million (base).
5. Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon — $21.161 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
6. Cardinals OT Paris Johnson — $19.072 million (playing time).
7. Raiders DE Tyree Wilson — $14.475 million (base).
8. Falcons RB Bijan Robinson — $11.323 million (Pro Bowl).
9. Eagles DT Jalen Carter — $27.127 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
10. Bears OT Darnell Wright — $19.072 million (playing time).
11. Titans OG Peter Skoronski — $19.072 million (playing time).
12. Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs — $14.293 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
13. Packers DE Lukas Van Ness — $14.475 million (base).
14. Steelers OT Broderick Jones — $19.072 million (playing time).
15. Jets DE Will McDonald — $14.475 million (base).
16. Rams CB Emmanuel Forbes — $12.633 million (base).
17. Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez — $18.119 million (Pro Bowl).
18. Lions LB Jack Campbell — $21.925 million (Pro Bowl).
19. Buccaneers DT Calijah Kancey — $15.451 (playing time).
20. Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba — $23.852 million (Pro Bowl).
21. Chargers WR Quentin Johnston — $18 million (playing time).
22. Ravens WR Zay Flowers — $27.298 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
23. Vikings WR Jordan Addison — $18 million (playing time).
24. Giants CB Deonte Banks — $12.633 million (base).
25. Bills TE Dalton Kincaid — $8.162 million (base).
26. Jets DT Mazi Smith — $13.391 million (base) Smith was traded to the Jets by the Cowboys.
27. Jaguars OT Anton Harrison — $19.072 million (playing time).
28. Bengals DE Myles Murphy — $14.475 million (base).
29. Saints DT Bryan Bresee — $13.391 million (base).
30. Eagles LB Nolan Smith — $13.752 million (base).
31. Chiefs Felix Anudike-Uzomah — $14.475 million (base).
Having completed his rookie contract with the Packers, receiver Romeo Doubs is set to hit the open market in March.
Coming in at No. 23 on PFT’s top 100 free agents of 2026, Doubs could be in demand as one of the top available receivers.
Green Bay G.M. Brian Gutekunst noted the possibility Doubs may move on, but the door certainly isn’t closed on the receiver returning to the franchise.
“We haven’t lost anybody yet, right?” Gutekunst said at the scouting combine this week. “We’re still kind of going through that process. Romeo’s done a fantastic job for us over his four years with the Green Bay Packers — very consistent, his work ethic is second to none.
“Again, we’d love to have him back. And if we do, he’ll be a big part of our football team. And if we don’t, I’m sure he’ll be very successful wherever he goes.”
Doubs, a fourth-round pick in 2022, finished the 2025 season with 55 catches for 724 yards with six touchdowns. He’s caught 202 passes for 2,424 with 21 touchdowns in his 59 career games.
