NFC Notes: Bears, Lions, Aaron Rodgers, Packers, Vikings, Kirk Cousins

Bears

• The Bears had a formal interview with Alabama DE Will Anderson at the Combine. (Aaron Wilson)
• Illinois CB Devon Witherspoon had a formal Combine interview with the Bears. (Tom Downey)

Lions

Jeremy Fowler reports that the Rams will “very likely” trade CB Jalen Ramsey in the coming weeks, with the Lions and Raiders being considered as potential landing spots.

“Now, Jalen Ramsey. This could be a hot market on the trade front,” Fowler said, via Bleacher Report. “The Rams are talking calls here, so I’ve talked to some teams this weekend to see what’s going on here and the Detroit Lions come up fairly often. It’s just a reasonable potential fit because Brad Holmes, the GM there, was with the Rams for a long time, he knows Ramsey’s game, and they need cornerback help. They’ve been sort of a built through the draft team but could be one to watch. Las Vegas Raiders need help there, so Ramsey, with his skill set, is only 28 years old, even though he’s due $17 million and should have some suitors.”

• Aaron Wilson writes TCU WR Quentin Johnston met with the Titans while at the NFL Combine. Johnston also met with the Ravens, Packers and Lions, and had a private meeting with the Texans. 
• Lions OC Ben Johnson said he wasn’t eager to move on from the organization for a head coaching job this offseason: “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 see,” via MLive.com’s Kyle Meinke.
• Johnson is aware he’s not guaranteed another head coaching window will open for him: “That’s OK. That’s something me and my wife talked about. If (another opportunity doesn’t come), we’ll be at peace with it. I haven’t lost any sleep or have any regrets doing what we did. We are very happy.” (Meinke)
• Lions HC Dan Campbell said the team doesn’t feel pressed to add a quarterback, but added that the team could still look to add at that position in the draft: “We don’t feel like we’re pressed, but that doesn’t mean our eyes aren’t on a quarterback.” (Jonathan Jones)
• The Lions had a formal Combine interview with Clemson LB Trenton Simpson. (Meinke)
• Florida State S Jammie Robinson had formal meetings with several teams at the NFL Combine, including the Bills, Falcons, Broncos, 49ers and Lions. (Justin Melo)
• Oregon LB Noah Sewell had a formal interview with the Lions at the Combine. His older brother is Lions RT Penei Sewell. (Meinke)

Packers

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers gave his thoughts on those who say he needs to make his decision sooner rather than later.

“It’s best for anybody who has an interest in this to make a decision sooner rather than later,” Rodgers said, via Pro Football Talk. “I remember before [Brett] Favre retired, there were times in April and May, we weren’t sure if he was going to come back because he didn’t come to any of the offseason programs. Then in 2008, he actually did retire in March and then said, ‘No, no, no,’ in June after OTAs, I actually want to come back and play. That’s when he was traded to the Jets. There was obviously a lot of tension that summer. For everybody involved, directly and indirectly, it’s best for a decision earlier. I feel really good about the conversations that are going to be had, that have been had with important people in my life. Yourself included. But I’m not looking for somebody to tell me what the answer is. All the answers are right inside me. I touched many of the feelings on both sides in the darkness. I’m thankful for that time.

“There’s a finality to the decision. I don’t make it lightly. I don’t want to drag anybody around. I’m answering questions about it because I got asked about it. I’m talking about it because it’s important to me. If you don’t like it and you think it’s drama, and you think I’m being a diva or whatever, then just tune it out. That’s fine. But this is my life. It’s important to me. I’ll make a decision soon enough and we’ll go down that road. I’ll be really excited about it.”

• The Packers met with Oregon CB Christian Gonzalez at the Combine as well as Alabama S Jordan Battle. (MJ Hurley)
• The team also had a formal interview with Alabama DB Brian Branch. (Kassidy Hill)
• Green Bay had a formal interview with Michigan DT Mazi Smith at the Combine. (MJ Hurley)

Vikings

Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah offered some interesting insight into how he views the quarterback position and the kind of impact they reasonably expect from the position. 

“Let’s go full numbers, we talk about necessary and sufficient conditions in math; a necessary condition is having a starter-level quarterback, a quarterback above a certain threshold. Now that doesn’t mean for sure you’re going to win, that’s not the only thing you need, but that is one of the things you need. Having a good-level quarterback is a necessary condition,” Adofo-Mensah explained, via VikingsWire.com. 

“Kirk (Cousins) meets that threshold, we know that. Okay well now, how do you build the rest of the team around him to make sure you can win in that way? Different quarterbacks require different things around them, but we know that for sure, (Kirk Cousins) meets that threshold. How long does he meet that threshold? Those are things we need to answer. Is there a chance to add somebody maybe with different skill sets? These are all questions we gotta answer so there’s not one right way but I do know one thing, he is good enough, and he meets that first threshold. That’s a question a lot of people can’t answer with a yes, so we have to make sure we treat that in the proper importance that it is.”

• Aaron Wilson reports Texas LB DeMarvion Overshown has met with several teams at the NFL Combine including the Vikings, Cowboys, Chiefs, and Jets.