How the ’85 Bears Live in Da Bulls, Extension Chatter, Mooney Bulks Up, Latest on Watson, and Other Bears Bullets

I’m double-dipping today with lunch at Roscoe Village Burger Fest and dinner with Max Scherzer at Wrigley Field this evening. Giddy up!

  • The ’85 Bears will live on forever. And in case you had any doubts of that, this will erase them:
  • The Summer League Bulls are channeling their inner Super Bowl XX champions. And I’m here for it. Do I want another Super Bowl winner to obssess over? Absolutely. In 40 years, I hope children are wearing 11 for Darnell Mooney, 1 in honor of Justin Fields, and 85 because Roquan Smith was their dad’s favorite player. But we should never lose sight of our past — no matter how much it pains us that it’s been so long since we’ve felt Super Bowl glory. Remember, you can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been.
  • From ESPN’s Jake Trotter: Another round of settlements in the Deshaun Watson case, this time in the form of 30 women settling claims with the Houston Texans organization. The allegations that came down in June via a civil suit against Houston’s football club alleged the team was “enabling Watson’s behavior.” There were 20 other lawsuits against Watson that were settled in June, but four still remain. And yet, there is no clarity as to Watson’s playing status. The league is angling for a year-long suspension for Watson, while the NFLPA is requesting something less severe. The expectation is that there will be resolution by the start of training camp, which begins for the Browns later this month.
  • How’s this for a palate cleanser?
  • Chiefs left tackle Orlando Brown, Dolphins tight end Mike Gesicki, Bengals safety Jessie Bates, and Cowboys tight end Dalton Schultz are the four NFL players who are set to play the 2022 season on the Franchise Tag after being unable to come to long-term extensions with their respective teams. And I’m already dreaming about the Bears kicking the tires on at least three of those players if they hit free agency.
  • In the meantime, we’ll marvel at Darnell Mooney and his ability to say a lot with so few words.
  • It is good to know that Mooney is working on his fitness:
  • If you haven’t read Dan Pompei’s latest on Mooney over at The Athletic, what are you waiting for? Just do it already.
  • My favorite anecdote from the Pompei piece was Mooney saying he loved Luke Getsy’s offense, adding that “it makes sense.” But a close runner-up was this snippet:
  • “New Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy is asking Mooney to explode off the ball on every play, pass or run, so defenders don’t get a read on play intention. Doing so will require more vigor.”

  • All of a sudden, Mooney putting on weight in order to whip himself into pristine playing shape for a new coach and system (not to mention new opportunities that come with being WR1 now that Allen Robinson II is gone) makes a whole lotta sense.
  • There’s also this thought that came to mind: Sure, adding weight might look to be small potatoes in the grand scheme of things. And perhaps the asking of Mooney to explode off the ball on every snap appears to be something minimal. But maybe it isn’t. I feel as if that tidbit shows how execution of something as small as how you come off the line can be a tell for the defense. Fixing something as tiny as that could be the difference between a successful play and one that goes for negative yards. And to see that Mooney is stepping his game up so he can be that dude in this offense is some of the most encouraging news a Bears fan could be reading this time of year. At minimum, the attention to detail shouldn’t be overlooked.
  • There hasn’t been much buzz surrounding the possibility of any Bears extensions. But that’s not the case elsewhere around the league:
  • In ESPN’s ranking of the NFL’s top tight ends, which are based on opinions from league players, coaches, scouts, and execs, Jeremy Fowler drops a nugget that the Lions are expected to prioritize T.J. Hockenson extension talks this summer. Hockenson was a 2019 first-round pick who is in line for an extension. And a hefty one, at that. We could see Hockenson get something long the lines of $10M AAV moving forward. Surely, Hockenson was watching intently as Mike Gesicki and Dalton Schultz were unable to get extensions. But with David Njoku’s new pact with Cleveland (4/$54.75M) leading the way, Hockenson (as well as Gesicki and Schultz) have a pathway to a big pay day.
  • I hate that I have to be the one to share it, but I will do what I must. Cole Kmet didn’t garner a single vote in the top-10 tight end polling. No honorable mention. Not even a mention in the “also receiving votes” category. Kmet has so much to prove as he enters Year 3 in the pros.
  • Long-time NFL offensive linemen Richie Incognito announced his retirement from football. The Associated Press calls Incognito’s career “turbulent” — which is a really kind way of putting it.
  • Deebo Samuel and I have so much in common, as we both spend NFL offseason days watching Devin Hester highlights:
  • Let’s play two! The first lineup of a Cubs doubleheader Saturday is OUT:
  • Once in a while, I stop and think about how much fun I had watching the Bulls for a large chunk of last season. And one of the primary reasons behind that was DeMar DeRozan:
  • It has been a wild time in Blackhawks land:
  • written by

    Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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