NFC North Notes: Lions, Packers, Vikings

Lions

Former Lions P Sam Martin, who signed with the Broncos, said he was “definitely interested” in re-signing with Detroit Lions and received an offer from them. 

“I did have an offer to go back to Detroit,” Martin said, via Jeff Risdon of LionsWire. “I was definitely interested in going back to Detroit.”

Martin said that Lions’ veteran K Matt Prater, who played with the Broncos from 2007-2014, helped influence his decision to sign with Denver. 

“Combined with all the praise I used to get from Prater on Denver on a weekly basis about how much he loved the city and Colorado in general, it became the place where I really wanted to land,” Martin said. “Detroit was definitely still on the table but Denver was a little more appealing and the contract was as well.”

Packers

Packers DC Mike Pettine said re-signing veteran CB Tramon Williams is still on the table and something they’re still discussing. 

“It’s clear how we feel about him. But it’s all part of the business end of it. We don’t know. But I do know it’s certainly something that’s been discussed,” Pettine said, via PackersWire.com. 

Pettine believes Williams was still “highly effective” last season despite being 37 years old. 

“When we went back and looked at last year’s tape, he was highly effective for us,” Pettine said. “He’s just that rare player that continues to play at a high level at a position you wouldn’t expect somebody to play deep into their 30s, a position that requires so much of their legs.”

Pettine reiterated that re-signing Williams is “up in the air” and Green Bay is still figuring out his potential contract. 

“We think very highly of him, but we understand the big picture part of it, the business side of it. At this point we don’t know. It is up in the air,” Pettine said. “We don’t know how his final chapter is going to be written, whether it’s here, or with another team, or whether he decides to retire.”

Vikings

• Ian Rapoport reports that WR Stefon Diggs‘ attitude was not the reason for his trade to the Bills, but rather the fact that Buffalo made the Vikings an offer that they were unable to refuse.
• Rapoport mentions that Diggs’ decision to tweet about potential going somewhere led to teams reaching out to the Vikings about a potential trade.