NFC Notes: Bears, Lions, Packers

Bears

As for RB David Montgomery, Bears GM Ryan Poles revealed that the team tried to keep him but wound up losing him in free agency to the divisional rival Lions. The team then replaced him by bringing in RB D’Onta Foreman who had a breakout season with the Panthers. 

“I would just kind of sum it up by saying players do have a choice,” Poles noted via Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic. “I thought we communicated well, I thought we negotiated well. At the same time, you don’t always know what’s going on in the background, but I thought we did a good job, we were transparent, we were organized and it just, it didn’t happen.”

“I liked the style and the scheme. That fits well,” Poles said of Foreman. “Good vision, burst. I love that he can finish runs with speed. So he’ll have a good opportunity to help us out. I think it’s healthy to have a two-back system, guys that can rotate in and out, different styles like we’ve had before where one would kind of (be) a more of physical, downhill guy, and then the other one can pop long runs and be explosive. We’ll continue to do that and hopefully have success there.”

Going forward, Poles mentioned the team would continue to keep their eye on free agents leading up to the draft.

“When you get to this point of free agency, it drops off,” Poles concluded. “The salaries drop off, talent, experience drops off. You do have a wave of players offensively and defensively that will go through the draft because they kind of want to see how everything settles. So we’ll keep an eye on those players. But right now, to improve our team, I think we got to look to the draft.”

• According to Justin Melo, Cincinnati WR Tyler Scott had a formal meeting with the Bears at the NFL Combine. 

Lions 

Lions GM Brad Holmes commented on the team bringing in S C.J. Gardner-Johnson this offseason and what it could mean for the team. 

“He’s always been a guy that’s always been — I don’t want to say the example — but we knew that was the fit of what we’re trying to bring,” Holmes told Kyle Meinke of MLive.com. “You see he’s a real dawg.”

When negotiations broke down between Gardner-Johnson and the Eagles, Holmes began to call his agent every day. 

“My rides home are usually my decompression space, but I just kept calling Kevin (Conner), just kind of just checking in and saying, ‘Hey man, what’s going on?’” Holmes said. “That just kept escalating, escalating. And then it escalated all the way up until I want to say (March 17), we had a good conversation, and then (the next day) we followed up again, just internally as a group, and even (the following morning), it was just another one of those routine calls. And it just happened to escalate ‘til we kind of got in a position we could get it done.”

• Holmes said they allocated resources to re-sign RB Jamaal Williams, who called the team’s offer “disrespectful.” As the market crystallized, Detroit moved on to RB David Montgomery, who the team felt was better at tackle-breaking. (Meinke)
• The Detroit Lions have a top-30 visit scheduled with Georgia DT Jalen Carter. (Justin Rogers)
• Nebraska QB Adrian Martinez had a top-30 visit with the Lions in March. (Dave Birkett)
• North Carolina WR Antoine Green met with the Lions at the Combine. (Jeff Risdon)
• Mississippi State DB Emmanuel Forbes has visits scheduled with the Cowboys, Eagles, Lions, Patriots, Steelers, Titans, and Vikings. (Jon Sokoloff)
• ECU RB Keaton Mitchell told reporters at his pro day that he has visits with the Falcons, Jets, Lions, and Packers (Billy Marshall)

Packers

• Packers HC Matt LaFleur on QB Jordan Love: “We all have to kind of temper our expectations for him.” (Matt Schneidman)
• LaFleur on if Rasul Douglas will play safety: “I think Rasul is capable of doing that. That’s not where we’re going to start him out. When you look at it, I think his best position is an outside corner.” (Wes Hodkiewicz)
• LaFleur on the defensive backfield: “Darnell Savage will start at the safety position and we’ll give Keisean Nixon every opportunity to lock down the nickel.” (Hodkiewicz)
• When LaFleur was asked about WR Romeo Doubs, he said the following: “I want to temper this comparison, but he’s got some Davante Adams-like movement skills. Now he’s got to learn how to use it and when to harness it. … There isn’t a route he can’t run.” (Ryan Wood)
• ECU RB Keaton Mitchell told reporters at his pro day that he has a top 30 visit scheduled with the Packers. (Billy Marshall)
• Mississippi State DE Randy Charlton met with the Green Bay Packers. (Jon Sokoloff)
• Pittsburgh DE Habakkuk Baldonado met with Packers DL coach Jerry Montgomery at his pro day. (Tony Pauline)