NFC Notes: Bears, Packers, Vikings

Bears

Bears’ QB Nick Foles has been involved in a number of trade rumors this offseason and HC Matt Nagy said he “absolutely” understands why teams would be interested.

“You’re talking about a Super Bowl MVP and a guy that’s started a lot of games,” Nagy said, via Jeff Dickerson of ESPN. “He’s had a really interesting career in so many ways that I just think that he deserves that. I mean, anybody that’s had the career he has is somebody that’s always going to be … for all teams, as a third-string guy, teams are going to look at guys like him.”

Nagy added that he and Foles have not discussed any of the trade rumors since the Bears reported to training camp at the start of this week.

“I don’t talk to him about that; he doesn’t talk to me about it,” Nagy said. “We just don’t go there because, again, that’s out of our control. He’s worrying about doing everything he can to just be great for us, and that’s what I like about our relationship. He’s happy with where he’s at here and he’s in a good place. I would say probably 95% of people in Nick’s situation would handle it completely opposite of the way he’s handled it, from the time that I brought him in and told him that he was going be the third-string quarterback. And I have to give so much credit to him because he accepted it. He understood it. Was he happy about it? No. But he understood it. … From the time we got to OTAs until now, we all talked about how impressed we are with how he’s handled himself in that role. I mean, every rep he gets, which isn’t a lot, but every rep he gets, he acts like he’s the first-string quarterback. He comes in in the morning and gets his workouts in super early. He stays after practice and gets conditioning in. He told me that right now, he’s in the best shape physically and mentally that he’s been in his career. Honestly, that was shocking to me, because you never know where a guy’s going to come into the summer or after the summer, and he’s done everything in his power. It’s been really neat, and he’s been great for Justin and Andy.”

Packers

Packers’ HC Matt Lafleur gave the media some of his thoughts on the quarterback situation, including the limit of reps that will be put on QB Aaron Rodgers

“I think we’re mindful of that with all our quarterbacks, just making sure [of] that because having three quarterbacks, that’s a lot of wear and tear on the arm and we don’t want to burn ’em out too early,” LaFleur said, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN. “So he and I did talk about exactly what number we’re looking for each day or being below a certain number. So we’ve got a guy out there that lets me know when we’re at that halfway mark and then I relay that to Aaron. The biggest thing was just getting on the same page with some of the offseason tweaks that we made to the offense. And, you know, we’re kind of working through those right now.”

Rodgers’ physical presence at camp has been long-awaited by the team, yet he currently seems to be more focused on his mental state 

“I think it’s important that we work on our mental state,” Rodgers said. “As you’ve seen with Simone Biles, I think there needs to be more conversation around that. We as athletes are often put on a pedestal that we’re beyond any mental hindrances or clutter, and the only time that mental health often gets talked about is when it’s in the context of depression. I didn’t have any depression, but I have a ton of respect for those who speak out in those situations. For me, it was just about clearing any of the clutter. That’s what I tried to do this offseason by adjusting some habits and spending some time with my loved ones, traveling as safely and as often as I possibly could, and then making sure I was ready to go if I came back.”

• Packers’ QB Aaron Rodgers‘ cap number for for 2021 is $27,573,568 and his number for 2022 is now $46,144,157. (Field Yates)

Vikings

• Vikings RT Brian O’Neill, who is entering the final year of his contract, is confident that a deal will work itself out eventually and reiterated that he wants to stay in Minnesota: “My focus is 100 percent on football this whole camp, this whole week. There’s people that handle that — the front office here, and my agent — so it’ll play itself out. I want to be here, I love it here, and we’ve got to finish what we started.” (ProFootballTalk)
• The Vikings will honor T Korey Stringer with a video tribute, a moment of silence, and by painting his No. 77 on the practice field. Stringer was a first-round pick out of Ohio State in 1995 who passed away from hyperthermia during Vikings training camp in 2001 at the age of 27. (Chris Tomasson)
• The Vikings have also joined the NFL Foundation and the Korey Stringer Institute to create the Korey and Kelci Stringer Athletic Training Scholarship with an initial $50,000 endowment. (Chris Tomasson)