The Cardinals are getting a closer look at what they believe they have in Will Johnson, and Mike LaFleur didn’t exactly hide the enthusiasm. Arizona’s head coach said the cornerback already earned respect from one of the best quarterbacks in the league last season, when Matthew Stafford was still on the other sideline as the Rams’ offensive coordinator.
LaFleur said Johnson was “jumping off the tape,” and then recalled Stafford’s reaction the next day: “Dude, this guy’s a freaking stud.” LaFleur tied that praise to the rookie’s style of play, calling him “an instinctual football player” and saying smart players like Johnson “figure it out.” He also said Johnson is “a great representation of what you want in the Cardinals,” pointing to a player who “loves it and is smart as hell and has some ‘eff-it’ to him.”
Out in Los Angeles, Ty Simpson is settling into life as Matthew Stafford’s understudy, and the Rams’ first-round quarterback says the learning curve feels familiar. Simpson compared the setup to his college experience at Alabama, only this time the lessons are coming at a higher level.
“It’s the same thing I did in college, except it’s a different level,” Simpson said, via RamsWire. “I’ve learned more ball in the last four months of being with him than I had in four years of being in college.
He’s just so, like, cerebral. Just understands and he’s so smart with everything.
It’s so cool. I appreciate him so much because he’s been nothing but nice to me.”
Seattle has brought Leonard Williams something different, and by his own account, it’s made a real difference. The Seahawks defensive lineman said the move from New York has been good for him and his wife, and he described the change of scenery as a reset after nine years in a high-pressure East Coast environment.
“Moving to Seattle has been a really beautiful experience for me and my wife,” Williams said, via the team’s website. “I got drafted to the East Coast. I was in a very hustle-bustle city in New York, and coming here after nine years of being in a city like that really just calmed my nervous system.”
Williams also said the shift helped restore something bigger than comfort - his appetite for the game itself. He credited environment, surroundings and the people around him for shaping both individual and team success, and said there was a stretch in his career when the constant losing, coaching turnover and injuries had him wondering about the future.
“I just account that to your environment, your surroundings, the people you’re around every day play a huge part in your individual success, team success, and just the love for the game as well,” Williams said. “There was a time in my career when I was playing on the East Coast, and we were just going year after year with losing seasons, dealing with new coaching staffs, new culture every two or three years.
I was also dealing with some injuries at the time. I was only like Year 8, and clearly had a lot left in the tank, but I was already like, ‘Is this it for my career?’
But obviously I kept pushing, I kept fighting, and eventually ended up here and turned it all around.”
Even with a new coaching staff in place now, Williams said the West Coast has brought back the energy he needed. He said the move “restored my energy, my love for the game,” and added that Mike’s arrival only amplified that feeling because of the principles he brought with him.
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Three Seahawks Suddenly Look Like Theyre Losing The Roster Battle
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Velus Jones, Logan Brown and Jalen Milroe all came out of the game looking like their recent showings may have hurt their chances to stick. None of them helped themselves enough to feel secure, and with the roster battle tightening, the margin for error is shrinking fast as Seattle moves deeper into the preseason. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Cornerback Search Just Found A Big Name Worth Watching
The Seahawks are already looking ahead to 2026 when it comes to one of the rosters most important weak spots, and Joey Porter Jr. has emerged as a name worth tracking. Seattle has the draft capital and salary-cap flexibility to get creative if it wants to address cornerback in a big way, and Porters profile makes him the sort of player teams can imagine building around rather than just patching a hole with.
Porters situation in Pittsburgh adds another layer. He is currently on the physically unable to perform list while also reportedly seeking a contract extension, and several Steelers teammates have publicly backed the idea of him getting paid. For a Seahawks team exploring every avenue at cornerback, that combination of availability, upside and contractual uncertainty is exactly the kind of opening front offices monitor closely, even if no deal has surfaced yet. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Backfield Suddenly Has A Name Fans Need To Watch
Jadarian Price has started to draw a little more attention in Seahawks camp, and not just because the backfield is open enough for anyone to make a case. Sam Darnolds comments about Price pointed to the kind of profile coaches tend to like early: a versatile runner who can help in more than one way and potentially carve out a real role on offense as camp moves along.
For Seattle, that makes Price worth keeping an eye on in a backfield that still feels like its sorting itself out. Training camp is where these things begin to take shape, and when a quarterback is already talking about a young backs adaptability, it usually means the player has done enough to get noticed. The next question is whether that early buzz turns into something more concrete once the pads stay on and the rotation starts to narrow. [Read more 🡒]