NFC North Notes: Bears, Lions, Packers, Vikings

Bears

• Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports that the Bears are expected to re-sign LS Patrick Scales to a one-year contract.
• Chicago could also bring back S DeAndre Houston-Carson and CB Sherrick McManis after re-signing S Deon Bush Friday. (Biggs)
• Bears LB Khalil Mack had $16.7 million of his $17.046 million 2021 base salary become fully guaranteed Friday. He also received a $3.7 million roster bonus. (Joel Corry)

Lions

Former Lions CB Darius Slay tells Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press that his lack of respect for HC Matt Patricia stems from a training camp incident back in 2018. 

“He told me in front of the whole team, in the team meeting room, showed clips of me in practice getting a ball caught on me or so in practice,” Slay said. “I posted a picture (of a wide receiver on Instagram), and he told me, stop sucking this man’s private. So I’m like, ‘Whoa.’ I’m like, ‘Hold up.’ Where I’m from, that don’t fly. Cause I wouldn’t say that to him. I wouldn’t say to him to stop you know what to Bill Belichick. I wouldn’t do that. That’s just not me as a man. That’s disrespectful to me and so from there on it was done with.”

According to Slay, former Lions S Glover Quin had to settle him down. 

“I ain’t going to say (I was ready to) fight because of the fact that I just really kind of blacked out a little bit and really asked myself, ‘Did this man just say this to me?’” Slay said. “And like I said, with GQ not sitting beside me in a team meeting room, there’s no telling what could have happened, honestly, cause the fact that I couldn’t believe it. And from where I’m from, stuff gets said like that, a lot of stuff happens. … And GQ sat there and was just like, ‘Nah, calm down Slay. Calm down Slay. You know where it’s going.'”

A source tells Birkett that Patricia considered Slay “a major cancer” and that “he would sit in meetings and not pay attention” then “go into the locker room and tell other players how the coaches are full of shit.”

Slay added that Patricia told him he had no business working out with guys like Richard Sherman, Xavier Rhodes and Aqib Talib because they are elite and he was just good.

“He told me, out of his mouth, he said, ‘Those are elite guys. You’re not elite. You’re a good player, but they are elite. And Sherman’s smart. He used you,’” Slay said. “He tried to say Sherm used me to know what Marvin Jones do. I said, ‘He can find out what Marvin Jones do watching film. That ain’t got nothing to do with me.’ What am I going to tell him? I don’t know the offense. I know route combinations, (but) I ain’t going to know the offense.”

As for moving on, Slay simply said: “I had to get out. I needed a fresh start.”

• Ben Volin of the Boston Globe mentions Patriots S Devin McCourty had offers on the table from the Lions and Dolphins but chose New England. 
• New Lions S Duron Harmon said his goal is to prove to Patricia he can be a player who is in for 90-95 percent of the snaps following his trade from New England. (Michael Rothstein)

Packers

ESPN’s Rob Devemosky notes that the Packers will pay out $28.19 million of roster bonus payments on Friday to the following players:

• OLB Za’Darius Smith: $9 million
• QB Aaron Rodgers: $5.24 million
• OLB Preston Smith: $4 million
• S Adrian Amos: $4 million
• OL Billy Turner: $3 million
• DE Dean Lowry: $2 million
• K Mason Crosby: $950,000

Vikings

• According to Chris Tomasson, there’s not a specific list of teams that former Vikings DE Everson Griffen is down to. However, he announced his departure from Minnesota because it became clear the team was “super constrained” by the cap and the “door was closed” to him coming back for anything close to market value. 
• The Vikings didn’t even make it as far as offering Griffen anything. He’s looking for around $8-$10 million per year on his next deal. (Tomasson)
• Griffen could bide his time until former Seahawks DE Jadeveon Clowney signs with a team, as he would emerge as an alternate for teams who miss on Clowney. (Tomasson)
• The Vikings inquired with OL Joe Haeg before he signed with the Buccaneers but did not make him an offer. (Darren Wolfson)
• New Vikings DT Michael Pierce credited assistant DL coach Imarjaye Albury as being a large reason why he signed with Minnesota. (Tomasson)