NFC Notes: Justin Fields, Bears, Jared Goff, Lions, Quay Walker, Packers, Vikings, Kirk Cousins

Bears

• Bears GM Ryan Poles on QB Justin Fields: “I thought Justin did a good job…he showed the ability to be a playmaker, be impactful, he can change games quickly.” (Courtney Cronin)
• Poles on if Fields will be the starter next season: “Yeah. We had good conversations. I’m excited for the direction he’s going.” (Cronin)
• As for picking a quarterback first overall in the draft, Poles said he would have to “be absolutely blown away to make that decision.” (Cronin)
• Poles noted that he has always wanted to keep RB David Montgomery and hopes to find “common ground” with him on a new contract. (Adam Jahns)

Lions

• According to Justin Rogers of the Detroit News, the Lions have told DL John Cominsky they want him back. The feeling is mutual and Detroit is hoping that another team doesn’t swoop in with a large offer for Cominsky following his breakout season.
• Lions GM Brad Holmes on QB Jared Goff: “I respect the hell out of him. I never really viewed him as a bridge. I think everyone else did.” (Kyle Meinke)
• When it comes to selecting a quarterback, Holmes said he is comfortable drafting one and allowing him to sit behind an established quarterback like Goff. (Meinke)
• Holmes on potentially drafting a quarterback: “I think it’s a lot easier to get worse at quarterback than to get better at quarterback in this league.” (Colton Pouncy)
• As for CB Jeff Okudah‘s fifth-year option, Holmes said it was essentially like a rookie year following his Achilles injury: “We’ll address that at the appropriate time.” (Pouncy)
• Holmes on first-round WR Jameson Williams: “I think a little bit of what you saw, I don’t think that’s anywhere close to where this kid is gonna go.” (Eric Woodyard)

Packers

• Packers HC Matt LaFleur doesn’t believe Walker is a malicious person: “He’s got some growing up to do controlling his emotions in the heat of the battle.” (Tom Silverstein) 
• LaFleur said he “absolutely” wants QB Aaron Rodgers back next season. (Bill Huber)
• Rodgers said he has a feeling that the team could go young at quarterback but said nothing has been mentioned to him so far: “I think to assume it’s a foregone conclusion (they want me back) would be slightly egotistical. So I’m going to be a realist here.” (Ryan Wood)
• Packers LT David Bakhtiari on his injury: “I don’t have surgery set up right now, so that’s fantastic. Just got done talking to Coach Butkus and the main thing is I just get to train because the last two years have just been rehab, so it’s nice to finally train.” (Matt Schneidman)
• Bakhtiari made it clear he does not have retirement on his mind and has no surgeries scheduled on his knee, which he feels has stabilized. (Wood)
• Bakhtiari on why retirement isn’t an option: “I’m not ready yet. I’ll know when I’m done. I’m not done yet. I still love it. I’ve still got a young mindset. Maybe to other people, they’d be content and happy. But…I really haven’t found that complacency yet.” (Wood)
• LaFleur wants Bakhtiari to be the team’s left tackle next year: “I thought once we got him back out there on a consistent basis, once we learned how to best practice him, once he learned how to do that for himself, I thought he played at a pretty high level.” (Wood)
• Packers RB Aaron Jones on his hope to remain with the team in the future: “I’d love to be here, so hopefully they feel the same way about me.” (Wood)
• LaFleur “anticipates” DC Joe Barry returning, as well as the majority of the staff: “That’s what I anticipate, yes…I don’t really anticipate a whole lot, if any, staff changes at all.” (Schneidman)
• LaFleur said the team saw improvement from the defense as the year progressed: “Although it wasn’t always pretty, I think we did start to improve as the year went on. I thought we saw more of an identity.” (Wood)

Vikings

Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell was confident in QB Kirk Cousins when he joined the team and showed a play where Cousins stood in the pocket and took a hit but was still able to make an accurate throw.

“I remember him saying to everyone in that room that it takes a special ability to sit here, stare down the barrel, get hit in the face, and throw with accuracy,” Cousins said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN. “He was empowering me in front of the whole team. That was kind of a funny moment where I was sitting there like, ‘Wow. He’s kind of just complimenting me and encouraging me.’ That was cool. He was doing it for a few other guys too. He didn’t just single me out. But those kinds of moments just empower you as a person and a player. You feel like he’s not just building a football team. He’s building people.”

“I wanted Kirk to understand what he was going to mean to us, not only this year but moving forward,” O’Connell said. “And what he had accomplished in this league would allow me to make sure that our entire locker room and coaching staff understood what I thought of him at that point. And that was on Day 1. And each and every time I can have an opportunity in team meetings, after a game, or a breakdown at the end of practice, I don’t ever want to miss out on an opportunity to allow Kirk to know that he’s got my trust, my faith in him as our leader and our quarterback.”