NFC Notes: Bears, Lions, Packers

Bears

Daniel Jeremiah didn’t have the Bears making a trade in his mock draft but sees the team taking either an offensive or defensive lineman should they trade down. He listed OL Peter Skoronski should the team trade back too far to take Will Anderson or Jalen Carter.

“I would probably go back to the same guy I just talked about: (Peter) Skoronski,” Jeremiah said. “As bad as the Bears defense is, you’ve got to give Justin Fields some help going forward. If they traded all the way down to No. 9, I would think they’re probably trading themselves into their choice of offensive linemen at that point in time. It would be hard to trade away from those two defensive players because they’re really, really good. But if you could get just the sheer haul of picks that could serve you well into the future, I think I would go that route and it probably would switch me from the defensive side of the ball to the offensive side with their first pick.”

Lions

The Lions moved TE T.J. Hockenson to the Vikings via trade and will need to upgrade the position this offseason. However, GM Brad Holmes feels confident with the team’s approach heading into free agency and the draft.

“We’re always going to be very strategic and selective with our approach,” Holmes said, via Eric Woodyard of ESPN. “Regardless of how many resources you have, how much money you can spend, we’re always very selective and strategic with how we go about free agency. And that’s upcoming UFAs that are on our team as well as external adds, but it’s always going to be the same approach.”

Packers

• Matt Scheneidman of The Athletic mentions Packers OL Sean Rhyan as a potential cap cut despite the fact that he could only save the team $485,001.
• The fact remains that he was suspended for the last six games of the 2022 season for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.