The Bears didn’t adhere to the philosophy of the last one to arrive being the first one to leave when it came to their quarterbacks, cutting Jerrod Johnson yesterday rather than the recently-signed Jimmy Clausen. As Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com details, head coach Marc Trestman has been impressed by Clausen during his brief time with the club so far.
“Jimmy’s done a very good job, very maturely fit in and taken the place of trying to learn and work to learn the offense,” Trestman said. “He’s grinded at it. He spent long hours here. He’s had help from the guys in the room to get him to the place he is today. So we’ll see. We’re going through the process of working with our roster. I think he’ll be one of the guys that we do bring back, and we’ll take it one day at a time when we get to training camp.”
Here’s more from around the NFC North:
- The Bears‘ release of veteran defensive lineman Israel Idonije warrants more than just a line on the league’s transactions wire, according to John Mullin of CSN Chicago, who writes that it represents a statement – and the end of an era – for the team’s defensive line.
- After signing a lucrative contract with the Vikings a year ago, Greg Jennings‘ first year in Minnesota was an inconsistent and frustrating one, but as he tells Ben Goessling of ESPN.com, Jennings is optimistic about year two.
- Former Vikings quarterback Rich Gannon believes that the club’s current QB situation is in good hands, writes Michael Rand of the Star Tribune. Rookie Teddy Bridgewater is competing for the No. 1 job with veterans Matt Cassel and Christian Ponder.
- Head coach Mike McCarthy and a few Packers teammates spoke to Weston Hodkiewicz of PackersNews.com about the devastating news that a neck injury will likely end Johnathan Franklin‘s NFL career.
- Earlier today, we learned that longtime Bears long snapper Patrick Mannelly has decided to retire. NFL players don’t come classier than Mannelly, in the opinion of the Chicago Tribune’s David Haugh.
Zach Links contributed to this post.