Tremaine Edmunds says Bears are in win-now mode

The Bears are not a rebuilding team, according to one of their defensive captains. Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds says they've already built a team that is ready to win this season.

Edmunds said new head coach Ben Johnson began the offseason program by saying exactly what the team wanted to hear.

"The message is we want to win, and we want to win now. Saying that is what we needed to hear. Because that's our mindset," Edmunds said. "We want this to happen right now. We're not waiting for anything. Let's get this thing, let's hit the ground running, and that's what the message is. That's what we've received as players."

Edmunds said he already sees Johnson, a new head coach, commanding the room and exuding the leadership that players feed off.

"We know where we're trying to get to as a program and I think we're going in the right direction, bringing the right people in, and that starts up top with the coaching staff," Edmunds said. "And from there bringing in the right players. And that's what this time is for, building an identity, building that team chemistry, to be able to work toward a goal. That's a long way away so we've got to start now, we've got to build that identity and we've got to put the work in."