NFC North Notes: Bears, Lions, Packers, Vikings

Bears

• Pro Football Talk points out the betting odds have Bears QB Nick Foles favored to win the starting job ahead of QB Mitchell Trubisky, and the odds have shifted even more toward Foles after Chicago declined Trubisky’s fifth-year option. 
• The Athletic’s Joe Person writes it’s hard to view the Bears as a potential landing spot for former Panthers QB Cam Newton, as they’ve already passed on the chance to acquire him and are rolling with Foles and Trubisky. 

Lions

• Tim Twentyman of the team website lists Lions TE T.J. Hockenson, S Tracy Walker and LB Jahlani Tavai as some younger players poised for breakouts in 2020.  
• Twentyman mentions some potential free-agent additions the Lions could still look at include DE Everson Griffen, LB Markus Golden and DE Vinny Curry, as well as potentially re-signing DT Mike Daniels. 
• While the Lions declined LB Jarrad Davis‘ fifth-year option, HC Matt Patricia said that doesn’t mean he’s not in their long-term plans: “JD is a cornerstone of what we’re trying to do.” (Dave Birkett)
• Patricia said he and former Ohio State secondary coach Jeff Hafley are friends and teach many of the same methods, which is a bonus when it comes to how fast first-round CB Jeffrey Okudah might be able to transition: “It was something for us that was really interesting about [Okudah] even going up and into the draft. Having a guy we knew was very familiar with our techniques and we thought that would help us in the long run.” (Twentyman)

Packers

• Former Packers executive Andrew Brandt sees a lot of parallels between the Packers selection of Jordan Love in the first round and when the Packers took Aaron Rodgers to sit behind Hall of Fame QB Brett Favre. 
• Brandt believes Love will be starting and Rodgers will be on another team by 2022. 

Vikings

The Vikings were insistent that WR Stefon Diggs was not on the trading block throughout last season and even during the NFL Scouting Combine at the end of February. Just under three weeks later, Minnesota dealt Diggs to the Bills at the start of free agency. Asked to explain the apparent inconsistency, Vikings GM Rick Spielman continued to say they weren’t planning to trade Diggs until Buffalo came with an offer they thought they couldn’t turn down. 

“We weren’t looking to trade Stefon at all,” Spielman said via Pro Football Talk. “I know we had just signed him under a contract as a young explosive playmaker that had a lot of great years that he has been here, we drafted him in the fifth round and he has developed into one of the top receivers but, you know, when opportunities come your way and we felt that it was a great deal for Buffalo to get a player of that caliber and we felt we got in exchange the fair amount of draft picks we would have looked for if we were going to trade him, and it ended up happening that we did trade him.”

Spielman added that getting Diggs out of the NFC was one of the tipping points in making the deal happen. 

“I don’t know if we would have traded him to Green Bay or Detroit or Chicago . . . but it does help when you can get him into a different conference than us potentially playing against him,” Spielman said.