NFC Notes: Giants, Lions, Panthers, & Vikings

Giants

• Dan Graziano writes the Giants possibly signing veteran OT Jake Long obviously boils down to his health, seeing as he’s coming off of a torn ACL.
• According to Graziano, the Giants were just checking to see how his rehab his going when they brought Long in for a visit not too long ago.
• Graziano cautions that there’s still a chance that Long doesn’t return to the NFL at all.
• Assuming all of the Giants receivers are healthy, Graziano expects Rueben Randle and Odell Beckham Jr. to operate on the outside with on Victor Cruz working as their slot receiver.
• Beyond those three, Graziano expects there to be a tough competition between Preston Parker, Corey Washington, Marcus Harris and Julian Talley, as there may only be one spot available for these players.

Lions

• Michael Rothstein admits that there could be “some bumps” in the road for the Lions’ offensive line unit in 2015, as they work in some players.
• Even so, Rothstein believes they have more talent with their current group than they did all of last season.
• One name to keep an eye on, according to Rothstein, is Cornelius Lucas.
• Rothstein still anticipates Joique Bell being the team’s lead running back at the start of the season, even after they used a second-round pick on Ameer Abdullah.

Panthers

• ESPN’s David Newton doesn’t rule out the possibility that 2015 could be Panthers DC Sean McDermott‘s final year in Carolina, as he could end up being a coaching candidate in 2016.
• According to Newton, Panthers CB Josh Norman is “on the verge of becoming a top 10 corner — if he’s not already.“
• Newton doesn’t completely rule out the possibility of first-round pick Shaq Thompson seeing time at either running back or safety at some point, but the Panthers have stressed that they view him as a linebacker.
• The plan for Carolina is, of course, to have Thompson eventually replace Thomas Davis at outside linebacker.
• Panthers HC Ron Rivera has said that rookie RB Cameron Artis-Payne can handle the full load if something were to happen to starting RB Jonathan Stewart.

Vikings

• Goessling believes FB Zach Line has a “decent chance” of securing a roster spot this summer, but he’ll likely need to convince the team to part with a tight end to secure a job.
• Goessling mentions that he’ll be keeping an eye on the Vikings’ right guard job in training camp, as there some obvious questions that need to be answered by rookie T.J. Clemmings, Joe Berger and David Yankey.
• In regards to the Vikings possibly adding some guaranteed money to RB Adrian Peterson‘s contract at some point, Goessling mentions that Minnesota probably prefer to see him on the field before broaching the subject.
• However, Goessling gets the feeling that the Vikings would like to have Peterson on their roster beyond the 2015 season, which means it’s certainly possible that they could work something out.
• Goessling suggests the Vikings guaranteeing $6 million of Peterson’s base salary for the 2016 as a reasonable compromise.