NFC North Notes: Bears, Lions, Packers, Vikings

Bears

Bears HC Matt Nagy said Tuesday that he has “no idea” whether first-round LB Roquan Smith’s absence could extend into the regular season, but added that there’s “a ways to go yet.”

“There’s no news,” Nagy said, via the Chicago Sun-Times. “As we’ve all said from the beginning, there is a process. I just need to worry about who’s here. And that’s really, truly where I’m at. I’m at a point right now where I just want to focus on who’s here and that’s all — control what I can control and those are the guys that we have and it’s really not that hard. You can spin it in a million different ways, but it’s pretty simple. If you’re here, that’s where we’re at. If you’re not, you can go through the process and eventually get it figured out.”

Lions

• According to Michael Rothstein, Lions RB Ameer Abdullah and S Miles Killebrew could both be trade candidates, depending on how things play out over the next month.
• Rothstein does, however, admit that it’s possible neither player is traded before the start of the season, but he says either player could be had at the right price.

Packers

• Packers HC Mike McCarthy said Tuesday that QBs Brett Hundley and DeShone Kizer are likely to get the bulk of playing time in their first preseason game: “They’re battling for the backup position, so you’ll see a balance of the reps between Brett and DeShone.” (Rob Demovsky)
• According to McCarthy, OLB Nick Perry (PUP) is “getting close” to being able to practice for the first time. (Michael Cohen)
• Packers TE Jimmy Graham and DL Muhammad Wilkerson both missed practice on Tuesday with knee injuries, but neither is considered serious. (Ryan Wood)

Vikings

• Free agent G Richie Incognito recently mentioned during an interview with TMZ Sports that he’s received some calls from NFL teams including the Vikings and Seahawks.
• When asked about Incognito’s comments on Tuesday, Vikings HC Mike Zimmer said: “No interest, and totally false. Tweet that.” (Ben Goessling)
• Incognito responded to Zimmer’s comments by tweeting: “Mike Zimmer is a FUCKING LIAR!!“