Bears
- Bears HC Matt Nagy said there are no changes to OLB Khalil Mack‘s (foot) status for Week 9. (Brad Biggs)
- Bears QB Justin Fields confirmed that he is fully vaccinated. (Dan Wiederer)
Packers
Packers RB AJ Dillon continues to impress as Green Bay’s No. 2 running back. He had a season-high 16 carries against the Cardinals last Thursday for 78 yards and Green Bay is anticipating him playing an even bigger role as the weather gets colder.
“I think that the way that he’s played is outstanding, I really do,” Packers QB Aaron Rodgers said via ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. “I think the way that he’s grown as a pass-catcher and as a runner, last year, it was a lot of downhill and not a lot of cuts. I think his foot speed has gotten better, he’s running behind his pads now. I mean, he’s a big man. I mean, he’s got a huge quads and lower half. But he’s running behind his pads now. He’s doing a good job with his leverage and his body lean, and he’s inflicting the punishment instead of last year. I think he was running a little higher and kind of taking some shots. But he’s elusive, and it’s a good 1-2 punch for us.”
- Packers HC Matt LaFleur said the organization did not cut corners with Rodgers following COVID-19 protocols: “As far as the football space is concerned, I am 100 percent confident.” (Ryan Wood)
- Regarding the Packers re-signing QB Blake Bortles, LaFleur mentioned that the quarterback has a good understanding of their system after spending the offseason program in Green Bay: “Blake’s got a great foundation with what we’ve implemented within our building. He knows how to get us fully operational. So he was by far the logical choice to bring back here.” (Stacey Dales)
- Packers OL coach Adam Stenavich said second-round C Josh Myers had knee surgery, but could still return this year: “It sounds like there is a chance.” (Matt Schneidman)
- Stenavich added the team could slide OL Elgton Jenkins around the line when LT David Bakhtiari returns: “I think for Elgton, yes. He can go to any spot. You give him three, four days of practice, he’ll be just fine.” (Schneidman)
Vikings
Vikings RB Dalvin Cook feels that the team must “reevaluate ourselves as a group” following their 20-16 loss to the Cowboys in Week 8.
“I thought we were going to come out strong, but we didn’t,” Cook said, via Courtney Cronin of ESPN. “And that’s a disappointment on us, and we’ve got to go back this week and reevaluate ourselves as a group and get better.”
Vikings HC Mike Zimmer admits they “kind of got away” from the running game in Week 8.
“We kind of got away on a couple of series,” Zimmer said. “We were trying to be aggressive in some of the parts there. I think we threw the ball nine straight times in the second half and went three-and-out three times.”
Zimmer added that they must be able to productively run with Cook and spread the ball around with Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen.
“We have to be able to run the football. We’ve got to get the ball to Dalvin, and we’ve got to try to get the ball to (Justin) Jefferson and (Adam) Thielen. When Jefferson got [injured], we’ve got to try to get the ball to Adam a little bit more. We’ve got to try to get the ball in the hands of our playmakers.”
- Vikings OC Klint Kubiak is confident third-round G Wyatt Davis has a “bright future” on the team despite not really playing this year: “Wyatt’s really working his tail off. He’s got a bright future for the organization.” (Chris Tomasson)
Looking for the latest NFL Insider News & Rumors?
Be sure to follow NFL Trade Rumors on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for breaking NFL News and Rumors for all 32 teams!
