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NFC Notes: Ben Johnson, Demond Claiborne, Bears, Packers, Vikings
May 13, 2026Wyatt GrindleyNFL Trade Rumors
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Bears Bears HC Ben Johnson talked about signing UDFA rookie TE Hayden Large after the team took rookie TE Sam Roush in the third round and already has a full room at the position. “ He was one of the guys we identified well before the draft, ” Johnson said, via Bears Wire . “ He’s a player that we really liked. A quick story about him – we do a great job trying to recruit some of these guys that we think might fall through the cracks and go undrafted. So I actually called him before the draft and let him know that we had a vision for him. And when you take a tight end in the third round, you’re kind of like, ‘Oh, shoot, that might take us away from Hayden coming here.’ And yet he didn’t bat an eye. This is where he wanted to be. To me, that speaks volumes about how he’s wired. And it has something to do with how he came to walk on at Iowa and earn him playing time and going through with the long, hard road. I really appreciate that and I think we got a good one there. ” Packers Packers WR coach Jason Vrable says WR Savion Williams has Tucker Kraft -like abilities when it comes to earning yards after the catch: “We’re really excited about him. I think he’s one of those guys no one is really forgotten about him, kind of forgotten to the outside world, but I’m excited for when the pads come on.” ( Wood ) Packers RB coach Ben Sirmans on MarShawn Lloyd : “We’re very optimistic, but I’ve been optimistic before. So we just have to wait. His legs are stronger than ever before, and he had legit offseason training for the first time.” ( Wood ) Packers OL coach Luke Butkus on Anthony Belton ‘s upside at guard: “He’s a big man who can still move his feet very well and his mentality of trying to go through people. I really love that.” ( Hodkiewicz ) Vikings Vikings rookie RB Demond Claiborne is excited for the opportunity in Minnesota, despite it being a long way from his rural Virginia hometown. The sixth-round pick out of Wake Forest says he is the first from his town, high school, and county to attend college and reach the NFL. “Now that I know where my home is, my focus is now laser-focused on the Minnesota Vikings and this organization and my teammates,” Claiborne told the team website . “It’s really just being able to stay homed in on football things, and being able to do football with my brothers is what I’m most excited about.” “From my playing ability, I bring a lot of explosiveness to this offense. The ability to break long runs, make people miss in tight spaces, to generate those explosive plays and take the ball to the house — 60, 70 yards. From a physical standpoint, that’s what I bring to the Minnesota Vikings,” he added. “But just overall emotional, mental, I think I’m a great teammate. I love my teammates. I want to know the guys and what they have going on. I’m an energy guy in the locker room, like to crack jokes and laugh and stuff, so really just being the best version of myself for the guys around me is what I’m excited about.” The post NFC Notes: Ben Johnson, Demond Claiborne, Bears, Packers, Vikings appeared first on NFLTradeRumors.co .