They will make you feel trapped. They will convince you that no one else will ever love you the way that they love you. They will make you feel like you’re too difficult to love and that they’ve been doing you a favor by sticking around. They will scare you into staying by making you believe that your choice is to be with them or to spend the rest of your life alone because no one else will ever take a chance on you.

They will gaslight you into thinking you’re the monster. They will twist your words and lie about their words. They will turn the situation around to make you feel like you were in the wrong, like they have the right to be angry, like you are the one who should be apologizing. They will lie and manipulate and confuse you until you decide that you must have been remembering things wrong or are blowing things out of proportion.

They will make you feel guilty about leaving. They will sob about how everyone leaves them and how they don’t want to lose you and how they can’t imagine living without you. They will make you feel like a horrible person for even thinking about walking away from them when they love you so much.

They will make you feel like you owe them something. They will bring up all the nice things that they have done for you in the past. They will throw every gift and every gesture in your face. They will act like you’re ungrateful and heartless since they’ve done so much for you in the past. They will try their hardest to convince you that you owe them your time and affection, and that you aren’t allowed to leave.

They will turn over a new leaf and start treating you right (temporarily). They will own up to their mistakes and promise that they will never hurt you again. They will say all the right things and convince you that they’re going to be different this time. But as soon as you decide to stay and get comfortable with them again, they’ll revert back to their old self. They’ll go back to treating you horribly – until they worry you’re going to leave again and the process will repeat itself. They’ll only treat you right when they’re scared you’re about to bolt.

They will try to buy your affection. They will spoil you with flowers and chocolates and jewelry. They will buy you massages and spa treatments. They will whisk you away on tropical vacations and take you to expensive restaurants. They will use their paycheck in order to convince you that you’re getting a good deal out of the relationship, even if they don’t always treat you right.

They will threaten you. Maybe they will threaten to hurt you (or themselves) – or maybe they will threaten to tell everyone what a horrible monster you are. Maybe they will threaten to turn your friends against you, to take your children away, or to leave you with nothing while they walk away with the house and all the money. Either way, they are trying to instill fear in you so you don’t dare to leave them. Either way, you need to come up with a safe escape plan now. You need to get yourself to safety.

The draft is three weeks away now. GM Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson have pieced together an off-season that is earning widespread praise across the league. The question is whether they can stick the landing with their 1st round pick in the draft. Current projections have the top three picks likely being a mix of Cam Ward, Travis Hunter, and Abdul Carter. After that, it gets tricky. People in Chicago want to know where running back Ashton Jeanty will end once the dust settles.

Widespread belief has been that the Las Vegas Raiders are the heavy favorites to take him at 6th overall, with New Orleans at #9 also being a possibility. It makes sense. Las Vegas’ best option right now is a 33-year-old Raheem Mostert. New Orleans knows Alvin Kamara turns 30 in July. Both teams need to think about the future at that position. Both have head coaches who like to run the ball. One thing is clear. A source told SM that those around the league believe one thing is certain.

“He likely won’t get passed Chicago if he falls that far.”

Ashton Jeanty is a strong probability for the Bears.

Whispers from Halas Hall indicate they love the Boise State star. It isn’t hard to see why. He nearly broke Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record in 2024, nearly winning the Heisman in the process. The guy carried his team to the college football playoffs. He’s built like a brick house with power, speed, contact balance, and vision. There aren’t any truly glaring weaknesses in his game. He’s earned comparisons to the likes of LaDainian Tomlinson and Marshawn Lynch. The Bears haven’t had a back of that caliber since Matt Forte.

Try to imagine what this offense could look like with Ashton Jeanty, Rome Odunze, D.J. Moore, and Cole Kmet all as options for quarterback Caleb Williams. Throw all of it into Johnson’s offense, and you can understand why some people around the league aren’t wild about the idea. They are quietly hoping Jeanty goes somewhere else. One thing is certain. If he gets past the Raiders, the noise will get loud in a hurry. It would mark the first time in 20 years the Bears have taken a running back in the 1st round.