NFC Notes: Bears, Lions, Packers

Bears

• Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune says what would hurt the Bears in any theoretical trade for Texans QB Deshaun Watson is the lack of high draft picks. Chicago would have to make up that difference with either more future firsts, which hurts their ability to rebuild, or young starters like LB Roquan Smith, DT Eddie Goldman or CB Jaylon Johnson.
• Biggs isn’t sure what the Bears will do at quarterback but he would put the odds as low of them drafting a quarterback at No. 20 in the first round. 
• Biggs doesn’t think the Bears will have the cap flexibility to bring back RB/WR Cordarrelle Patterson or DL Roy Robertson-Harris.
• The Bears hired Oregon State RB coach Michael Pitre to the same position on their staff. (Adam Rittenberg)

Lions

When asked about his recent trade from the Rams, Lions’ new QB Jared Goff said the feeling to depart from Los Angeles was “mutual.”

“Ultimately, they wanted to go in a different direction,” Goff said, via Gary Klein. “As the quarterback, as the guy that’s at arguably the most important position on the field, if you’re in a place that you’re not wanted and they want to move on from you, the feeling’s mutual.”

Goff added that it became “increasingly clear” that he was with the wrong organization. 

“You don’t want to be in the wrong place. It became increasingly clear that was the case. [The trade] is something that I’m hopeful is going to be so good for my career,” said Goff. 

In the end, Goff said he is grateful for his time spent in Los Angeles and being able to reach the Super Bowl back in 2018.

“I really enjoyed my time here,” said Goff. “I want to leave this on a positive note. Obviously, the ending wasn’t favorable and wasn’t fun. But them drafting me No. 1 overall and bringing me to a city that hasn’t had a football team in a long time, being a part of that rebuild after 2016, being able to help bring L.A. football back to prominence, all that stuff I take extreme pride in. It’s something that I’ll always remember.”

Packers

On the other side of all the speculation surrounding QB Aaron Rodgers is the guy Green Bay drafted as a potential replacement in the first round last year, QB Jordan Love. With no preseason and limited camp and OTAs, there’s not a lot of readily accessible professional tape on Love, which makes him a bit of an unknown quantity. And the Packers reaffirmed their commitment to Rodgers for seemingly more than just another season, which raises the question for Love of when his opportunity will come. 

“The situation I’m in, they brought me in to learn as much as I can, and that’s really all I can do,” Love said via CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin. “I don’t make those calls; they do. Obviously, [like] anybody, you wanna be out there competing. The way I look at it, if I’m not ready to be out there, then I have to keep working. I mean, I definitely grew a lot during the season. It’s a lot when you first get there, your head’s kinda spinning, but once you get your feet into it and get through the season, your confidence gains.”