NFC North Notes: Lions, Packers, Vikings

Lions

Lions OT Taylor Decker expects to wait a little bit longer for a contract extension after the Lions exercised the fifth-year option in his contract. 

“In my mind, I’m going to play two more years before that’s going to happen,” Decker said via MLive.com’s Nate Atkins. “All of that will take care of itself. You get ahead of yourself and you lose sight of getting better each day.” 

Packers

Packers ILB Blake Martinez has said he feels their defensive unit is “way, way better off” in year two of DC Mike Pettine’s system and DL Mike Daniels agrees with Martinez’s assessment. 

“I’m really excited. We had a coach with a new scheme last year,” Daniels said, via Madison.com. “There were a lot of speed bumps, learning curves — whatever you want to call them — and now you see everybody is a lot more comfortable with the scheme. And it’s showing.”

• Regarding some of the reported dysfunction within the Packers’ organization, Michael Lombardi explained on his podcast that Mark Murphy is acting as though he’s the “king of all kings” since restructuring the organization: “Packers dysfunction is because Mark Murphy has taken the team and said, “I’m the king of all kings, everything must go through me,” Oliver North invented this term “plausible deniability” – Murphy can sit there and say ‘Oh I have nothing to do with it.’ (Adnan Virk)

Vikings

• According to Chris Tomasson, if Vikings seventh-round LS Austin Cutting can’t play due to service duty in the armed forces, the Vikings could try to sign Stephen F. Austin LS Chris Wilkerson. 
• The Vikings reportedly considered taking Wilkerson in the seventh round ahead of Cutting. 
• Vikings DE Tashawn Bower has shed his walking boot. (Tomasson)