The Chicago Bears are kicking off anew new era under new head coach Ben Johnson, where they have the firepower in place to become an explosive offense in the NFL.
Quarterback Caleb Williams will get to work with an offensive guru in Johnson while getting upgraded pass protection along the interior offensive line and plenty of weapons, including receivers DJ Moore, Rome Odunze and second-round rookie Luther Burden III.
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While Chicago will battle some tough defenses, notably in their own division, they appear to have caught a break following the Green Bay Packers releasing former Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander.
Burden had a hilarious reaction to Alexander’s release, commenting “Uh oh” under the NFL’s Instagram post.
Following Alexander’s release, the Packers appear to have the worst secondary in the NFC North, which certainly has Burden (and his Bears teammates) salivating ahead of their pair of 2025 matchups.
While Alexander wasn’t necessarily at his best last season — he only appeared in 14 games over the past two years due to injury — there’s no doubt Green Bay’s defense was better with him in the game. In that span, the Packers were 10-4 with Alexander and 10-10 without Alexander.
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As Green Bay’s secondary gets worse, Chicago’s weapons have gotten better. In addition to Moore, Odunze and Cole Kmet, the Bears added rookies Burden and Colston Loveland to produce in a Ben Johnson-led offense.
With Chicago defeating Green Bay for the first time in seven years in last season’s finale, it certainly feels like the Bears-Packers rivalry is a rivalry again.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears rookie Luther Burden reacts to Packers releasing Jaire Alexander