NFC Notes: Ben Johnson, Josh Jacobs, Lions, Packers, Vikings

Lions

During the last coach hiring cycle, many presumed Lions OC Ben Johnson would take the opening in Washington. Johnson ended up not taking the job and reports came out that his asking price was too high. 

“There was in my opinion some false narratives going on out there, and it started towards the end of last year, before I made the decision to pull out,” Johnson said, via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “That comes with the territory. I’m good with that. That’s part of life in the NFL. So, [it] doesn’t affect me. I do feel for the people around me. I hate that my family would ever read stuff that’s not necessarily the case. But they handled it really, really well.”

Packers

Former Packers RB Aaron Jones was a huge contributor to their late-season surge when he finally was at 100 percent health. Green Bay QB Jordan Love noted how tough it was to lose Jones in free agency but is excited about how new RB Josh Jacobs can fill in. 

“Yeah, it was very tough,” Love said, via the team’s YouTube. “Aaron Jones is such a special player. Special guy in this locker room since I’ve been here. Everyone loved Aaron, and it was very tough. It was one of those things that you can’t control. Obviously getting Josh here has been awesome. Excited to see him on the field. He’s an awesome player. He’s been an awesome teammate so far. It’s been good getting to know him, and I’m excited to see what he can do this year.”

Vikings

Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell said they are having open competition for their third receiver role, but praised WR Jalen Nailor‘s effort in the offseason program. 

“That third receiver spot is going to be very competitive,” O’Connell said, via Andrew Krammer of the Star-Tribune. “There’s a bunch of guys that had really good springs. I mean Jalen Nailor had another really good offseason program. … When he’s healthy and on the field, he shows up every single opportunity he’s gotten. That’s our challenge to him is sometimes things are out of your control and then we understand that, but for him to take that next step, we’re gonna need to see him out there a lot as part of that group.”

O’Connell said TE Nick Muse has missed time this offseason due to a knee injury. 

“Something that was kind of lingering and developed to a point where we wanted to make sure he was able to have the best possible training camp he can by getting that cleaned up when we did.”