Cubs News: Brisker on upcoming season: “The time is this year, no more waiting” |
CHICAGO - Going into his third season with the Chicago Bears, safety Jaquan Brisker has seen quite a drastic change in the team. One of those changes is the fellow safety he is playing with.
After two seasons of playing alongside Eddie Jackson, Brisker now has the chance to learn from the two-time All-Pro safety Kevin Byard. “(Kevin Byard) has a lot of football IQ, a lot of veteran football IQ that he has brought to the team, a lot of leadership,” Brisker said. “He’s very vocal and things like that. So, it’s been good.” In the first half of last season, Chicago’s defense struggled to remain healthy and find their rhythm. However, the second half of the season saw the Bears' defense start to come together, and with minimal changes in the offseason, Chicago is expected to be a top-10 defense in the league. “It’s exciting because you look at every position group, and we’re talented. We’re great everywhere and all we got to do is just really put it together,” Brisker said. “So, I’m just looking forward and the draft picks that (were) brought in and the players that we added. It looked like we could be a very dangerous team on paper. But, we got to put it together. One big move for the defense was securing cornerback Jaylon Johnson to a four-year, $76 million contract following his first Pro Bowl season. Some players have a different mentality once they secure a large contract. However, Brisker says Johnson is not one of those players and is actually working harder than ever before. “He’s the same guy every single day. We’re going to get the same guy every single day. He works hard. He comes in day in and day out and he takes his job (seriously) and his technique. You can just tell out there, he’s always on point. He’s always making plays, and then he’s just being Jaylon,” Brisker said. “We know what we’re going to get out of him every single day and that’s what I appreciate. Even now, he’s working even harder. You can tell. He’s not letting anything get to him, which I like and he has a chip on his shoulder. He wants to be the best and him.” With a key piece of the defense secured in Johnson, as well as edge rusher Montez Sweat and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, there is no question about how talented the defense is and the longevity of this talent. This bodes well for rookie quarterback Caleb Williams since he was going against some of the best talents in the league in mandatory minicamp and will be going against these players for the next few seasons at least. Williams has certainly impressed in rookie minicamp, organized team activities (OTAs) and mandatory minicamp with his dedication to learning the offense, perfecting his technique and always being himself. While his cadence has been a point of growth thus far, he has impressed players on both sides of the ball including Brisker. “You can tell he has something in his notebook every single day. He’s really focused and locked in on his tools, his technique and he doesn’t let the outside noise affect him, which is good,” Brisker said. “He comes in every day and works very hard, and you can tell he’s going through his progressions and things like that, and he’s going through the right reads, and every single day, it’s becoming quicker. So, he’s catching up on a lot of things. But also, we’re always going to give him different looks.” Chicago has all the pieces it needs: a strong defense, Williams, new receivers Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze to pair with DJ Moore, who had his best season last year, two talented tight ends Gerald Everett and Cole Kmet, and running back D’Andre Swift. In his third season, Brisker knows the rebuild in Chicago is done and now it is time for the Bears to show the league what they are capable of. “It’s time to win now. Our time is now for sure. I don’t want to be talking about it too much or anything like that, but we’re going to get it done this year,” Brisker said. “We brought in Caleb, Odunz,e and them guy, (Byard), and we’re going to get it done. The time is this year, no more waiting.”
