NFC Notes: Bears, Lions, Packers

Bears

Bears OLB Khalil Mack is coming off a down year by his normal standard and says he simply “wasn’t good enough” last year. 

“I wasn’t good enough,” Mack said, via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. “Wasn’t good enough at all. Understanding that, there are different intangibles that came with it. I don’t make any excuses. I just rise to the occasion and I am getting ready for this one. It’s going to be a fun one, man, I can’t wait.”

• Bears HC Matt Nagy revealed the reason why DT Akiem Hicks missed practice today with a quad injury: “We don’t want to make anything worse than what it is.” (Kevin Fishbain)
• According to Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune, Bears K Eddy Pineiro is dealing with a groin issue, which explains why they’re signing Cairo Santos to a contract.

Lions

• Per the Athletic’s Chris Burke, Lions third-round DE Julian Okwara has been one of the most impressive players during camp and looks fully recovered from a broken leg last year.
• Lions HC Matt Patricia thinks he could have a bigger than initially expected role: “I’ll say this. Just having him and being around him and (with) some of the things we saw on tape, I think there’s a lot more there than maybe initially what you saw, as far as besides the pass rush. He’s a pretty heavy-handed kid. I think there’s some things on there that we can build on.”
• Lions RB Kerryon Johnson said he plans on using a knee brace throughout the 2020 season: “Me and the knee brace are one.” Johnson added that the knee brace gives him “a peace of mind as well.”  (Michael Rothstein)
• Lions rookie RB D’Andre Swift returned to practice on Sunday. (Justin Rogers)
• Albert Breer reports that the Lions returned one false-positive test from Saturday.

Packers

Packers WR Equanimeous St. Brown said he has completely recovered from a high-ankle sprain that caused him to miss all of last season, per Matt Schneidman.

St. Brown added his ankle sprain was his “first major injury” and initially thought he could return midway through the 2019 season. 

“It’s been my first major injury since I’ve been playing football my whole life, and first major surgery,” said St. Brown, via Ryan Wood. 

• Packers HC Matt LaFleur thinks their defensive coaching staff is getting second-year OLB Rashan Gary in a better position to make “disruptive plays” this season: “He definitely has the physical ability. For him, it’s just going to be a matter of — I feel like a broken record saying this — but just consistency.” (Ryan Wood)
• LaFleur told reporters that they did have a couple of false positives, but they were able to determine there wasn’t a risk to practice Sunday. (Tom Silverstein)
• Packers CB Josh Jackson said the coaching staff has had him focus solely on playing cornerback and he was not told to study as a safety. (Tom Silverstein)
• Ali Bhanpuri of NFL.com thinks that the Packers would be a good fit for veteran free agent TE Delanie Walker.