NFC Notes: Bears, D.J. Moore, Lions, Jordan Love, Packers

Bears

• Ian Rapoport mentions that one reason for the Bears wanting to trade with the Panthers now, was for the team to acquire WR D.J. Moore prior to free agency.
• Joe Person reports that the Bears considered Moore a “must-have” in the deal and it kept the Panthers from having to add another first-round pick into the package.
• According to Justin Melo, Purdue TE Payne Durham had formal interviews with the Broncos and Buccaneers at the Combine and will soon meet with the Bears, Bills, Cowboys, and Rams.

Lions

Lions OC Ben Johnson has made quite an impact with his top-five offense in 2022 and garnered a lot of attention in the head coaching cycle as well as at the combine. 

“I had no idea what I was getting into at the end of the day,” Johnson said, via Colton Pouncy of The Athletic. “But had (an interview with) Houston, I want to say, that Thursday morning. Then Friday afternoon the next day I had Indy. Unique is probably the first thing I learned. Each place is a little bit different. They had their own situations that they were concerned about, but also the format of the interview was completely different for both of them as well.”

“There is no doubt that these opportunities aren’t guaranteed,” Johnson added. “They don’t come along very often. There are only 32 of the jobs, and I was honored that I had three requests come out. Did some due diligence on it. … I can just speak on a personal level. Some people, they really want to climb as fast as they can. I know particularly young coaches want to do that. That’s not been the case for me, per se.”

“I want to be around football,” Johnson continued. “I want to win football games. I want to be around good people. And when I finally had a chance to step back and take a deep breath and look at it, that was the most important thing. I love Dan Campbell, I’ve known him for a long time, and I believe in the direction of this organization. So that truly was the biggest drawing point for me to come back. … What we have here, what we’re building here, is something I want to be a part of. I’ve been a part of a number of losing seasons in my 11 years in the NFL. To feel us get so close to making the playoffs this year and knowing the players we have, knowing what Brad’s been able to do in his short time here in acquiring this talent, this personnel, it really makes me feel like, man, we just gotta kick that door down. Get our foot into the dance, and all bets are off when that happens.”

Packers

Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy says the team is confident QB Jordan Love is ready to be the new starter in 2023.

“Yeah, we have a lot of confidence in him,” Murphy told Adriana Torres of WBAY. “We drafted him and developed him. A lot of credit goes to our coaches, and to Jordan. But we do think he’s ready.”