{"id":784129,"date":"2026-03-01T10:10:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T10:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/784129\/"},"modified":"2026-03-01T10:10:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T10:10:36","slug":"ben-johnson-could-outshine-matt-lafleur-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/784129\/","title":{"rendered":"Ben Johnson could outshine Matt LaFleur again"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It is no secret that there is no love lost between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicitysports.com\/chicagobears\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Chicago Bears<\/a> head coach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicitysports.com\/ben-johnson-receives-a-grade-in-first-nflpa-report-card-as-head-coach\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ben Johnson<\/a> and his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/team\/_\/name\/gb\/green-bay-packers\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Green Bay Packers<\/a> rival <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicitysports.com\/matt-lafleur-sabotage-chicago-bears-packers-contract\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Matt LaFleur<\/a>. Ever since taking the Bears job, Johnson has expressed his disdain for the Packers and has stoked the fires of the rivalry on multiple occasions. What is more, he has backed up his talk by beating Green Bay more than he has lost to them.<\/p>\n<p>As the NFL off-season progresses, one intriguing free agent name that is frequently brought up is that of <a href=\"https:\/\/wisportsheroics.com\/green-bay-packers-malik-willis-nfl-dolphins\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Malik Willis<\/a>. LaFleur and the Packers were able to make Willis into a serviceable quarterback as he backed up Green Bay starter Jordan Love. Now, he is set to make up to $30 million on his next contract with whatever team signs him.<\/p>\n<p>Willis\u2019 renaissance has furthered LaFleur\u2019s reputation as a quarterback guru. But a recent development in Indianapolis could give Johnson the chance to steal that thunder from his rival, too.<\/p>\n<p>Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson could fix Anthony Richardson<br \/>\n<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-161160\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20490%20600'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" alt=\"Chicago Bears, Ben Johnson, Anthony Richardson, Matt LaFleur\" width=\"490\" height=\"600\" data-lazy- data-lazy- data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/USATSI_27083293_168400517_lowres-scaled-e1772205563195-490x600.jpg\"\/>Sep 14, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. (5) warms up prior to the game against the Denver Broncos at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It was recently revealed that the Indianapolis Colts have given former top-five draft pick Anthony Richardson permission to seek to a trade. In three seasons with the Colts, Richardson has a 50.6% completion percentage, 2,400 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, and a 67.8 passer rating.<\/p>\n<p>His future, obviously, does not lie in Indianapolis and he would like a fresh start. The problem, though, is that there may not be any teams willing to give him a chance to be their starting quarterback. At least, not yet.<\/p>\n<p>This is where Johnson and the Bears come in. It is also well-known that multiple NFL teams are interested in Chicago backup Tyson Bagent on the trade market. Should the Bears trade Bagent, they would need to find a backup quarterback behind Caleb Williams.<\/p>\n<p>If this were to come to pass, Richardson could become a project for Johnson should the Bears be able to acquire him for the Colts. After all, Johnson did wonders for Jared Goff on the Detroit Lions and has helped Williams immensely in just one year.<\/p>\n<p>And if Johnson could help Richardson improve to the point where he could be a starter in the NFL again, the Bears head coach would, once again, outshine LaFleur in that department.<\/p>\n<p>For More Chicago Sports<\/p>\n<p>Follow me on Twitter at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/theotherRobin19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">@theotherRobin19<\/a>,\u00a0and follow us\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChiCitySports23\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">@ChiCitySports23<\/a>. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicitysports.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection\" class=\"__cf_email__\" data-cfemail=\"addfc2cfccc9ccc0de9c99edcac0ccc4c183cec2c0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicitysports.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">click here!<\/a>\u00a0Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks<\/p>\n<p>                <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1706\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%202560%201706'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" alt=\"Chicago Bears linked to mammoth 6-foot-6 defender amid trade talks\" class=\"post-image\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/USATSI_28330297_168419782_lowres-scaled.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                    Chicago Bears linked to mammoth 6-foot-6 defender amid trade talks<br \/>\n                    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicitysports.com\/chicago-bears-linked-mammoth-6-foot-6-defender-amid-trade-rumors\/\" class=\"read-more\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\tFor More Great Chicago Sports Content<\/p>\n<p>        <a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLGY9QowgMXbAg?hl=en-US&amp;gl=US&amp;ceid=US%3Aen\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"349\" height=\"108\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20349%20108'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-10.png\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Get the latest Chicago sports news, analysis, and breaking stories on the Bears, Bulls, Blackhawks, Cubs, White Sox, Sky, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on <a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLGY9QowgMXbAg?hl=en-US&amp;gl=US&amp;ceid=US%3Aen\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Google News<\/a>, so you never miss a story on your favorite Chicago teams.<\/p>\n<p>Follow us on Twitter at <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/chicitysports23\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@chicitysports23<\/a> for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/chicagosports247\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE <\/a><\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It is no secret that there is no love lost between Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":784130,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2070],"tags":[1504,374,1035,692,391,2493,7,3031,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-784129","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-bears","8":"tag-anthony-richardson","9":"tag-bears","10":"tag-ben-johnson","11":"tag-chicago","12":"tag-chicago-bears","13":"tag-chicagobears","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-matt-lafleur","16":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116153380745899838","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=784129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/784130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=784129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=784129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=784129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}