NFC North Notes: Bears, Lions, Packers, Vikings

Bears

• Bears GM Ryan Pace said the team’s decision to keep G Kyle Long in Chicago for their preseason game against the Giants was an “internal matter.” (Jeff Dickerson)
• Dickerson points out that Long’s exclusion from Friday’s preseason game was likely due to the altercation he caused in Wednesday scrimmage where he reportedly ripped the helmet off of DL Jalen Dalton and hit him with it. 

Lions

• Kyle Meinke of MLive.com mentions CB Teez Tabor, G Oday Aboushi, QB Tom Savage, WR Travis Fulgham, and DT Kevin Strong as some notable players that could be on the roster bubble for the Lions.

Packers

Packers HC Matt LaFleur told reporters after Thursday’s game that they’d like to see QB Aaron Rodgers (back tightness) play in the preseason, but it’s “not a necessity.”

“I think we’d like to see him, but you’re talking about a veteran quarterback who’s played a lot of football,” LaFleur said, via Packers.com. “It’s not a necessity, but it’s certainly something we’d like to see.”

LaFleur also said that Rodgers may play in their Week 3 preseason game against the Raiders, but the playing surface of the stadium in Winnipeg, Canada must be evaluated due to it being a non-NFL field. 

“We’ll evaluate the surface before we play the game,” LaFleur said. “[Packers administrator] Matt Klein is going up there a couple of days early. It seems like it’s a relatively new stadium. It seems nice but until we get there we won’t know.”

Vikings

Former Ravens ST coordinator Jerry Rosburg said Vikings HC Mike Zimmer contacted him prior to trading a 2020 fifth-round pick to Baltimore in exchange for return K/P Kaare Vedvik.

“I told him about his work ethic and I told him about his dual abilities,’’ Rosburg said, via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. “He asked if he was better at this or that? I said he’s an NFL talent. … I think he’s got everything it takes. … He is whatever you need him to be and whatever he works on the most.’’

Rosburg added that the Ravens originally considered Vedvik as a punter, but felt he was “developing faster” as a placekicker. 

“Initially, I considered him an NFL punter because he demonstrated more skills as a punter than he did as a placekicker,’’ Rosburg said. “Upon his arrival, we had him doing both and Randy Brown, our kicking coach at the time who is now assistant special teams coach for the Ravens, he thought he was developing faster at placekicker than he was at punter on an NFL level. … He really surpassed the expectations with the placekicking skills he developed quicker there.’’

• Chris Tomasson notes that the Vikings picked up $280,000 of cap room this week when they traded for Kaare Vedvik and released LS Kevin McDermott.
• By cutting McDermott, the Vikings will carry $110,000 in dead money for the 2019 season.