NFC North Notes: Bears, Lions, Vikings

Bears

• The Athletic’s Adam Jahns ranks Raiders QB Derek Carr as the best potential trade option for the Bears if Tom Brady lands in Las Vegas, though it would mean Chicago is moving on from QB Mitchell Trubisky.
• Jaguars QB Nick Foles would be another option as a veteran fallback if Trubisky falters, but Jacksonville would likely need to eat a large portion of his salary. 
• Jahns believes if the Bears want Bengals QB Andy Dalton, they can wait, as he doesn’t think Dalton will have that strong of a market. 
• Panthers QB Cam Newton and Redskins QB Alex Smith would be strong candidates, but both have major health questions. 

Lions

Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press lists the following players as potentials options for the Lions in the second round of this year’s draft. 

• Florida CB C.J. Henderson
• TCU WR Jalen Reagor 
• TCU DT Ross Blacklock
• Michigan C Cesar Ruiz
• Utah DE Bradlee Anae
• Wisconsin LB Zack Baun
• Ohio State RB J.K. Dobbins
• Alabama LB Terrell Lewis
• Mississippi State CB Cameron Dantzler
• Utah State QB Jordan Love 

Vikings

While the Vikings have been one of the better defensive teams in the NFL during HC Mike Zimmer‘s tenure, there have been lapses at inopportune times. Minnesota was taken apart in prime time by the Rams in 2018 and the 49ers dismantled Minnesota’s defense rather easily in the divisional round of the playoffs this year. This offseason, Zimmer made the decision to move on from long-time DC George Edwards, replacing him with his son, LB coach Adam Zimmer, and DL coach Andre Patterson, along with hiring veteran DC Dom Capers as a senior assistant. The hope is the change will generate fresh ideas that will help propel the Vikings over the top from good to great. 

“It’s about consistency. We’ve got to do better than what we did,” Zimmer said, via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. “We had some good games and we had some games that we weren’t probably up to our standards. The biggest thing is that we all get in here, we roll up our sleeves and get back to work and see where we can improve, and that’s part of the reason why I brought Dom in here. It’s part of the reason why Adam and Andre are taking charge in the room and I can try to continue to get good coaches.”