NFC Notes: Bears, Packers, Aaron Rodgers, Vikings

Bears

The Bears are trying to gradually ease second-round OT Teven Jenkins into action as he returns from a back injury. Jenkins dipped his toe into the water with snaps on two extra points in his first-ever game. He did some work pre-game at left tackle and Bears OL coach Juan Castillo said if something happened to starting LT Jason Peters, Jenkins is the next man up. 

“We’re trying to work him and get him ready,” Castillo said via the Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain. “In an emergency thing, if something happened to Jason, right now he would be the one that would come in. So we’re trying to catch him up. He hasn’t done a lot of football. We’re working hard trying to get him ready in case something like that happens. He could play in short yardage or situations like that, too. Again, we’re just working him in slowly. He’s still recovering and all of those kinds of things, so we’re just working him slowly in.”

Packers

• The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman writes that although Packers RT Billy Turner is playing at a Pro Bowl level in 2021, he could see Green Bay moving on in the offseason to save cap room and moving OT Yosh Nijman to the right side.
• He adds the team could also make tackle a priority in the first round of the draft. The Packers have some tough decisions coming up this offseason. 
• Some other players Schneidman could see leaving Green Bay include TE Robert Tonyan and WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Both are on expiring contracts and the Packers have been able to overcome extended absences from both this season. 
• Schneidman mentions Packers assistant OL coach Luke Butkus is highly thought of by the team and is a natural successor should OL coach Adam Stenavich be offered a better opportunity elsewhere. 
• Packers QB Aaron Rodgers said he saw a second opinion for his toe but there is no change in plan: “There was no mindset change. The biggest key is rest. I wish there was another one of these (bye) weeks so I could get 14-21 great days without doing anything, but the toe is improving.” (Rob Demovsky)
• Rodgers added surgery isn’t even a consideration right now: “That’s not option No. 1 or 2. If things were to progress or get much worse, that would be something to avoid further damage.” (Demovsky)

Vikings

• Ben Goessling reports WR Adam Thielen doesn’t need surgery on his injured ankle.
• Vikings HC Mike Zimmer expects Thielen to return this year. (Tomasson)
• Vikings OLB Anthony Barr said he plans on playing Thursday night after recovering from his hamstring injury. (Goessling)
• Vikings S Xavier Woods said the last play of Sunday’s game happened was on the players: “We were aligned correctly, we just didn’t execute.” (Courtney Cronin)
• After the Vikings waived him, DE Eddie Yarbrough thought he was going to be added to their practice squad, but Minnesota decided not to re-sign him. (Chris Tomasson)