NFC Notes: Davante Adams, Bears, Packers, Vikings

Bears

Bears RB Khalil Herbert responded to some of the comments made by now Lions RB David Montgomery about Chicago’s losing taking the fun away from football.

“Losing sucks, not that I know that other guys experienced it, but losing sucks at the end of the day,” Herbert said, via NBC Sports Chicago. “I know nobody was too happy to lose last year. And that’s one thing I feel like we’re trying to change this year.”

“We’ve got a great group of guys,” Herbert added. “Everybody coming in with that mindset of getting better every day and having fun, you could see it out there on the field. You could feel it in the building. I was happy for him (Montgomery), just being able to get paid, and get his money. Obviously as a brother, I miss him. I’ll get to see him twice a year so that’ll be good.”

Packers

One of the cracks that couldn’t be plastered over between the Packers and QB Aaron Rodgers was the loss of WR Davante Adams last offseason, something that Rodgers admitted took him by surprise. He blames the way the front office handled those negotiations for alienating Adams, to the point where he took the same or less money to go to the Raiders. Specifically, Adams said Green Bay’s initial offer before the start of the 2021 season was less than $20 million per year. 

“They offered him less money than Christian Kirk ($18 million per year) and (Adams) is going, ‘Are you serious right now? I’m the best receiver in the league, and you’re gonna offer me less than Christian Kirk?” Rodgers said via the Athletic’s Matt Schneidman. “With all due respect, he’s not on Davante’s level.”

Now it’s worth pointing out that the Jaguars signed Kirk to that deal just a few days before Adams was traded to the Raiders. Green Bay’s initial offer would have come months before, so the timeline is worth keeping in mind with regard to the exact details. Still, Rodgers says it’s clear to him the Packers didn’t make Adams feel respected. 

“I’m sure that the team will say that’s just the business of negotiation — it’s like, yeah, but you’re also sending a message to that guy, and a lot of times it can stick with guys and make them a little sour on things,” he said. “… That goes back to the first offer that they made, and I don’t think (the Packers) had the foresight — obviously didn’t have the foresight.”

Vikings

Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell is hoping that some of the players who have been a part of the team’s culture are able to step up and fill the void left by departing leaders like linebackers Eric Kendricks and Za’Darius Smith, as well as WR Adam Thielen.

“It’s like, hey, I think you’ve earned the right. Your performance and production are one thing, but now you’re filling a void of some players that aren’t here anymore, that were here since you’ve been here. And you’ve become the player you’ve become, maybe because of the exposure to those guys,” O’Connell said, via Albert Breer of SI.com. “Now it’s, can you take your own personal leadership to the next level and help guide this team? And, time and time again, in those conversations, it’s something that those players are excited about.”

O’Connell told Breer he respects Thielen and Kendricks and wishes them the best with the Panthers and Chargers respectively.

“When those things were final, those decisions were made, I reached out directly to those guys and made sure, once again, they heard it from me,” O’Connell said. “But also, ‘Hey, moving forward, if there’s anything I can do or I can help with in any way,’ I was gonna do that. I talked to Adam multiple times about some of the opportunities he had and ultimately just wanted to be a resource for him. As much as anything just as a friend, and somebody that respects him. It was hopefully as much to their benefit as it was to ours, that they get to have another great year, experience some success, continue to grow in their own right, even at that point in time in their career, and get to look back at that year and feel like they had a real hand in it. Because they really did.”