NFC North Notes: Bears, Packers, Vikings

Bears

Bears GM Ryan Paceย said they identified who the โ€œcorner-needyโ€ teams were before using the transition tag on CB Kyle Fuller a few weeks ago and were prepared for whatever happened.

โ€œAnd Green Bay was one of those ones we thought could be a possibility,โ€ Pace said, via the Chicago Sun-Times.ย โ€œSo you arenโ€™t surprised when the offer sheet comes in. Itโ€™s just, โ€˜OK, now what does this contract look like?โ€™ โ€

According to Pace, they felt the Packers’ offer sheet to Fuller was a “very fair” contract.

โ€œOnce we were able to dig down and see the contract and see the language, then understand that, โ€˜Hey, thatโ€™s a very fair contract for Kyle,โ€™ then [came] the excitement of, โ€˜Hey, letโ€™s match this,โ€™โ€ Pace said. โ€œNow weโ€™ve got him here with us long term, and he earned that. And weโ€™re happy for him.โ€

Packers

Packers GM Brianย Gutekunst explained what happened with their decision to sign Bears CB Kyle Fuller to an offer sheet a few weeks ago.

โ€œWe got through a certain period of free agency and we didnโ€™t feel there was a risk of tying those resources up for the time weโ€™d have to tie them up, we thought it made sense to maybe go into that,โ€ Gutekunst said, via PackersNews.com. โ€œI think Russ did a really good job of structuring it in a way that may make it difficult for them, with the understanding we knew it was a low-percentage chance. โ€ฆ We knew the whole time, especially being within the division, that there was probably a small chance that weโ€™d actually acquire the player.โ€

When asked why they decided to go with a more friendly offer,ย Gutekunst said he thinks their offer was pretty strong.

โ€œI donโ€™t know how friendly a four-year, $56 million contract is to anyone,โ€ Gutekunst said. โ€œI know from our aspect of it, it was something we had to think through thoroughly. You add a piece like that to your team, it has ramifications. I donโ€™t really know how to answer that question as far as (being) friendly (to the Bears).โ€

Vikings

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