Bears

• Kevin Fishbain and Dan Wiederer of The Athletic don’t believe Bears WR D.J. Moore is off limits, as they could use the salary cap relief considering he hasn’t performed to his $28.5 million cap number. 
• One league source raised concerns to Fishbain regarding Moore’s connection with QB Caleb Williams: “It’s clear to me Caleb doesn’t have a ton of trust in DJ. I don’t think DJ has lost a step or anything like that. All the physical ability is still there. But at times, that’s what it boils down to. If your quarterback, for whatever reason, doesn’t have that trust, there becomes a disconnect.”
• Fishbain mentions there’s a sense within the team that Moore will return, but Chicago could be enticed to move him if they can get a fourth-round pick or conditional third-round pick.
• With LB Tremaine Edmunds being granted permission to seek a trade, Chicago is looking for speed as the biggest trait in replacements in that room. 
• Bears GM Ryan Poles is on record saying he wants S Kevin Byard back but it might be tough, as Fishbain says he’s expected to get something like two years, $15 million. 

• Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune said the Bears aren’t interested in trading DT Gervon Dexter: “They’re not taking calls on him. They’re not making calls on him…I’m reporting nothing is happening on that… They’ve got two defensive tackles under contract, they’re not looking to move one. Gervon Dexter will be with the Bears next season.”

Packers

• Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer thinks Packers LT Rasheed Walker lands around or over $20 million a year as a free agent. 
• The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman thinks Packers GM Brian Gutekunst tipped his hand about inside linebacker, and that LB Quay Walker will get more in free agency than Green Bay is comfortable matching. 

Vikings

• Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports that the Vikings want to add an experienced, reliable veteran at quarterback, with options including Geno Smith, Kyler Murray, Derek Carr, Kirk Cousins and Joe Flacco.
• Sources told Lewis that QB J.J. McCarthy is considered inconsistent by the team, and they feel he must take a major step forward on and off the field. Lewis explains the Vikings didn’t know what they would get with McCarthy during games and practice.
• He also wrote the Vikings were caught off guard by the challenges McCarthy had with some of the elemental aspects of being the face of a franchise, and these growth hurdles have become widely known among NFL executives and coaches.
• Lewis adds Minnesota is intentionally casting a broad net to not get caught without a seat like last year when their preferred options signed elsewhere. He says the Vikings think Smith would fit great into the locker room but the Raiders have to cut him first.
• Murray would be cheap once he’s cut by Arizona as expected, but Lewis notes there would need to be discussions about how he’d fit into the picture with McCarthy. Carr would require a trade with the Saints who own his rights, Cousins would require ownership approval and an agreement on salary. Flacco is the equivalent of their safety school and final fallback option. 
• Lewis mentions 49ers QB Mac Jones is too expensive in terms of trade compensation, and Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers would eliminate any competition aspect with McCarthy.
• As for potential cap cuts, Lewis notes that veteran DT Jonathan Allen and C Ryan Kelly are at risk of being released. The Vikings have already indicated they will cut DT Javon Hargrave and RB Aaron Jones.
• One candidate Lewis mentioned for an extension is RT Brian O’Neill, noting that it will take some negotiating for the two sides to reach a deal.
• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano list Vikings WR Jalen Nailor as a pending free agent poised to do much, much better than people expect on the open market. 
• According to Vincent Bonsignore, there was talk at the combine about the Vikings and retired QB Derek Carr, who has indicated an interest in returning next season.
• In his Combine rumors notebook, NBC Sports’ Matthew Berry says the sense in Indianapolis was that the smart money was on “the field” over McCarthy as the Vikings’ Week 1 starter.
• Berry was told that by midseason, the Vikings had to scale the playbook back to accommodate McCarthy. 
• He hasn’t heard Carr connected to Minnesota but he has heard Murray and Rodgers, who HC Kevin O’Connell was interested in last year, along with Smith. Packers QB Malik Willis is an outside option if he’s not too expensive. Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa doesn’t seem to be on Minnesota’s radar, per Berry.