Bears players sounds off on first offseason meeting with Ben Johnson

The Chicago Bears kicked off their voluntary offseason program on Monday, where new head coach Ben Johnson addressed the entire team for the first time.

Last week at the NFL Owners Meetings, Johnson said he was crafting a speech with a message of change and moving forward after a 5-12 season under the previous regime. Now, we're learning new details from Monday's meeting where Johnson laid out expectations for his players.

Veteran safety Kevin Byard described Johnson's message to the team as being a professional, attention to detail and communication.

"Our first meeting was great today," Byard told ChicagoBears.com. "[Coach Johnson] brought a lot of energy. He's brought an excitement to this city and this team."

Johnson's hiring has brought a ton of excitement to fans, as well as players, who understand his pedigree and what he brings to the table. While it's just the first meeting of many this offseason, Johnson laid the groundwork.

"We're going to learn a lot more about him," punter Tory Taylor told the team's website. "But I think you've only got to turn on the tape from Detroit to see his aggressive mindset, and you can tell he's an aggressive person. It's going to be something new and different, and that's always exciting. It's going to be hard, but we want it to be hard. So, I'm really excited."

The Bears will hit the practice field later this spring for voluntary minicamp (April 21-23), OTAs (May 20-22, May 27-30, June 9-11) and mandatory minicamp (June 3-5).

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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears players share details of first meeting with Ben Johnson