NFC North Notes: Bears, Lions, Packers, Vikings

Bears 

Dayton TE Adam Trautman said the Bears have shown an early interest in him during the 2020 Senior Bowl festivities. 

“Literally, I had a guy reach around and grab me by the stomach and was like ‘Hey, I need to talk to you,’ ” Trautman said, via Chase Goodbread of NFL.com.

“They’re interested in me,” Trautman added. “They tell me they like what they see.”

Lions

New Lions DC Corey Undlin said their coaching staff has not decided who will call defensive plays next season. 

“We’ll talk about that and we’ll figure it out,” Undlin said, via Kyle Meinke of MLive. “Whatever it is, I’m here right now, and what that ends up being is what it ends up being. Whether I’m calling them all the time, whether (Matt Patricia) calls them, I have no idea.”

Undlin added HC Matt Patricia told him they’ll decide on play-calling and other details when they return from the Senior Bowl to their team facility in Detroit. 

“Matt asked me, ‘Hey, I want you to be the D-coordinator’ I said, ‘I would love to be the D-coordinator.’ OK? We’ll deal with all that other stuff when we get back in the building and we start going through it,” Undlin said. “When we get back to Detroit, then we’ll talk about it.”

  • Per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, new Lions OL coach Hank Fraley said the team will consider 2019 UDFA G Beau Benzschawel to potentially replace G Graham Glasgow in 2020: “(He has) a great chance to come in and contribute and be a great Detroit Lion. Is that a starter? Is that a backup? Time will tell this year, but he’s a fun one to work with.”

Packers

  • Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline reports Falcons’ impending free-agent TE Austin Hooper is expected to garner interest from the Cardinals, Packers, and Seahawks this offseason. 

Vikings

  • According to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, Vikings LB coach Adam Zimmer remains a strong candidate to take over as defensive coordinator. 
  • NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport says Minnesota could elect to split defensive coordinator duties between Zimmer and Vikings DL coach Andre Patterson.
  • Regardless of what the titles end up being, there is a promotion of some sort brewing for Patterson, per Cronin.
  • The Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s Ben Goessling reports Vikings WRs coach Drew Petzing is, in fact, leaving the organization. 

Looking for the latest NFL Insider News & Rumors?

Be sure to follow NFL Trade Rumors on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for breaking NFL News and Rumors for all 32 teams!

Leave a Reply