NFC Notes: Jameson Williams, Tristan Wirfs, Buccaneers, Lions, Panthers,

Buccaneers

Buccaneers GM Jason Licht said that the team has not decided for certain that they will be moving Tristan Wirfs from right tackle to left tackle ahead of next season.

“We certainly feel very comfortable with a person like Tristan, with his skill set and his athleticism and size and intelligence and all that, that [his transition to left tackle] is going to be pretty seamless, but that hasn’t completely been etched in stone yet,” Licht said on WDAE radio. “Now, we’re still going to remain fluid here in the offseason. We’re going to see how it goes, and we just want to make sure that we’re putting the best five out there. Now, he’s certainly going to be one of the best five, but what combination? So, we feel good about Luke; we feel that he can do that at right tackle. But, you know, we still have time just to make sure that we’re putting them in the right spots.”

• Buccaneers Co-DC Larry Foote on LB Devin White requesting a trade: “As I told him he’s getting paid $11 million this year, those are champagne problems.” (Rick Stroud)

Lions

The six-game gambling suspension for Lions WR Jameson Williams is an unfortunate setback for a young player who barely saw the field as a rookie while rehabbing a torn ACL. It’s a self-inflicted wound too as opposed to the random chance of a blown knee. But Lions GM Brad Holmes said this doesn’t make them worried about Williams long-term. 

“Look, he made a mistake,” Holmes said via Kyle Meinke of MLive.com. “He made a mistake. He takes accountability of it, he knows it. Yes, he is young, and he understands the mistake he’s made. We’ve had transparent, open conversations about it, but we have confidence that he’s going to take the approach, he’s going to have the right response, in terms of what he needs to do.”

Panthers

Panthers WR Adam Thielen said his signing with Carolina and having the opportunity to prove himself over again was a “breath of fresh air.”

“Yeah, it feels like a whole different world for me,” he said, via Panthers Wire. “Super exciting. Kind of a breath of fresh air just to, ya know, I gotta go prove myself again. I gotta meet a lot of people and prove that I’m the player that I am.”

Thielen said the motivating factor behind him signing with Carolina was the feeling of the team building something special.

“There’s a lot of factors, obviously,” Thielen said. “But I think it comes down to the plan—the opportunity to build towards something special. And when I came here, I felt that the culture that was being built. I felt the excitement around this place. There’s just something that felt right. And that’s exciting. And I felt that every single day that I’ve been in here.”

• Panthers S Sam Franklin signed a new one-year deal for slightly less than the initial $2.71 million original round restricted tender, which was not guaranteed. His new deal includes a $1.5 million signing bonus and $1.01 million base salary, as well as four void years to spread the cap hit. (Over The Cap)