NFC Notes: Bears, Rams, Seahawks

Bears

Bearse QB Mitch Trubisky tells Tyler Dunne of B/R that he embraces the “challenge” of playing in a division with Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins and Matthew Stafford.

“If that doesn’t get you excited, I don’t know what will,” Trubisky said. “People say, ‘This kid, no matter how good he does, he’s going to be the worst in his division every year.’ That’s a challenge I’m going to accept. You have to go toe-to-toe with the big dogs. We want to make teams fear coming into Chicago, and when we come into their town, they know, we’re in for a war.

“So get ready. I’m going to be prepared. I’m going to give you everything I’ve got. Hopefully, I make people eat their words with what they say about me.”

Rams

• Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports mentions that an interesting subplot to watch with Rams DT Aaron Donald is that he basically has two options this season.
• Donald can either report to the Rams within 30 days of Week 1 or holdout indefinitely until he secures the contract he’s looking for.
• According to La Canfora, NFL management council records show that Donald has just three accrued seasons and not four, despite playing four full seasons. Donald’s decision to not report to the team within 30 days of the 2017 season, he didn’t gain an accrued year towards becoming a vested veteran.
• La Canfora reported yesterday that Donald has told some close to him that he anticipates a new deal with the Rams being done before the start of training camp.

Seahawks

The Seahawks have parted ways with a number of notable players this offseason.

Veteran WR Doug Baldwin admits that things are different this year, but he adds that it creates more opportunities for the team to find new talent to develop in the coming years.

“It is different,” Baldwin told Q13 News. “There’s a large void there. We had a lot of leadership that was just natural, honestly, especially on the defensive side of the ball, obviously. Those individuals challenged the entire team. Whether you want to say it was good or bad, they did push our entire team to maximize our potential. That element is missing — I shouldn’t say missing; it is missed — but there’s guys who can step up and fill that void on the defensive side of the ball.

“I think it gives us an opportunity to breathe, and find that new talent, that new leadership, and hopefully continue where we left off.”