NFC Notes: Bears, Packers, Vikings

Bears

• Regarding Bears QB Justin Fields, Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic writes that the quarterback must make plays “drive to drive, quarter to quarter and week to week.” 
• With that, Fishbain thinks that a successful season for Fields is to “show growth,” as opposed to achieving a winning record.
• Fishbain thinks the Bears trading Khalil Mack this offseason put “everyone on alert,” including DE Robert Quinn. In the end, Fishbain would be “slightly surprised” if Chicago also traded Quinn. 
• However, if the Bears don’t trade Quinn this offseason, Fishbain could see him becoming a “prime trade-deadline” candidate if Chicago isn’t in the playoff hunt.  
• As for the receiver position, Fishbain points out that Darnell Mooney is currently set to be their No. 1 option, barring WR Jarvis Landry potentially signing or a possible trade to acquire Dolphins WR DeVante Parker.
• Regarding the offensive line, Fishbain would prefer the Bears sign a veteran lineman as opposed to drafting a prospect while selecting a wide receiver in the 2022 NFL Draft.
• Fishbain thinks the transition for linemen is more difficult than receivers, and Chicago should make protecting Fields a priority. 

Packers

Packers CB Rasul Douglas, who re-signed to a three-year, $21 million deal, said he wanted to get his physical done in order to quickly return to training. 

“I came up Sunday night so I could get everything done on Monday,” Douglas said, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN. “I just wanted to do it and get back to what I was doing before I had to leave and go up there.”

Packers GM Brian Gutekunst feels that re-signing Douglas was the “best option” and was surprised by him recording five interceptions last season. 

“We sat down as a group and kind of went through the different options that we had, and we felt like he was the best one,” Gutekunst said. “To predict what he was able to do for us, I’d be lying to you if I thought he was going to come here and have five picks or whatever he had, and impact our team the way he did. Credit to him and his work ethic and not blinking and making the most out of his opportunity that was given to him and the coaches’ willingness to put him out there after a very short period of time that he was here. That’s not easy to do sometimes but they trusted him and he went out there and proved them to be correct.”

Douglas thanks “everything just clicked” for him last season when signing on with Green Bay. 

“Everything just clicked,” Douglas said. “I got coached by a coach who actually played. My assistant coach actually played in the league for years. He was an All-Pro. He allowed us to be in great positions. He didn’t want to put us in any position that he didn’t see himself playing.”

Vikings

Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said that they are still looking to re-sign free-agent CB Patrick Peterson this offseason. 

“He texted me the other day,” Adofo-Mensah said of Peterson, via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. “Pat Pete’s a great person, a great player in this league for a long time. … You want to make sure you respect a player of his caliber, his expertise in this league, but also the reality of the situation we’re in from a salary-cap standpoint. Again, those conversations are ongoing, and we’re trying to work through those problems.”

As for free-agent LB Anthony Barr, Adofo-Mensah admitted that he is a “tougher situation” to bring back. 

“I had a conversation with him the other day,” Adofo-Mensah said. “That’s going to be a tougher situation to navigate. Never say never. Obviously, there are things salary-cap related with acceleration and things like that that made that kind of a challenging deal.”