NFC North Notes: Bears, Lions, Vikings

Bears

• Per Pro Football Talk, Bears HC Matt Nagy explained why former second-round TE Adam Shaheen was a healthy scratch Sunday for the tight end-starved Bears: “We want all of our players to be able to be completely detailed and play hard and do everything they can to be the best player they can be.”
• Nagy said the team was considering placing LB Danny Trevathan on injured reserve following his elbow injury Sunday. (Twitter)
• Bears re-signed TE Bradley Sowell. 
• Bears waived LB James Vaughters. 

Lions

Lions DT Mike Daniels explained that the foot injury he suffered last year while playing for the Packers led to a “chain of events” that resulted in Green Bay releasing him in July. 

“That (injury) led to a chain of events that brought me here and I’m playing for a coach that I really like, with a bunch of guys that respect me and I respect them,” Daniels said, via the Detroit Free Press. “It looks tough in the beginning, but you never know what God has in store for you, so I kind of took that mindset. Initially I was like, ‘Man, this sucks,’ but I had to remind myself, the last injury brought about a lot of good, so just keep pushing, keep working hard and see the results.”

Daniels said “we’ll see” when asked he’s ready to ready from a separate foot injury.

“We’ll see,” Daniels said. “We’ll see this weekend. I always have the most confidence in myself. What really helps me out here is that there’s a really good supporting cast of guys here on this defense. I really like our roster, so you can depend on everybody to be able to do their job and that takes a lot of pressure off the man in the middle.”

• According to ESPN’s Michael Rothstein, the NFL is looking into how the Lions handled the injury designation for QB Matthew Stafford. Some players said they were told Saturday that Stafford wouldn’t play when he was still listed as questionable. 
• Lions HC Matt Patricia said Stafford is “truly day by day, week to week.” (Kyle Meinke)
• Patricia added Stafford felt good practicing all week but underwent further scanning on his back on Friday night that concerned the team. (Tim Twentyman)
• Stafford told reporters that he hopes to play moving forward and it was a collective decision for him to sit on Sunday. (Matt Schoch)
• Lions OT Rick Wagner is in the concussion protocol. (Twentyman)

Vikings

Vikings TE Kyle Rudolph has had his role in the passing game minimized for much of 2019 despite signing a four-year extension this offseason. But with WR Adam Thielen out, Rudolph became the go-to guy in the red zone Sunday night, catching two one-yard touchdowns and a two-point conversion. 

“It’s big. It’s what I’ve done my whole career,” Rudolph said via Pro Football Talk. “It’s what I made a name doing. So, it was good to be back involved. Kirk showed a lot of trust in me. Both of those throws were in traffic. That’s what we’ve been working on, that trust throwing balls up in traffic and I just go get them.”

• According to Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Vikings DT Linval Joseph had knee surgery but is not expected to miss much time this season. 
• Unless Vikings DE Everson Griffen‘s playing time falls below 57 percent for the season — he’s currently at 86.8 percent — Griffen will have the right to void his contract and become a free agent in March. (Goessling)
• Griffen must notify the team by February 25 if he plans to exercise the option.