Bears

Bears GM Ryan Poles was asked why the team opted not to re-sign veteran S Kevin Byard despite his success last season.

“That’s what makes this part of this difficult,” Poles said, via BearsWire.com. “You have certain plans; there’s guys that you would like to have back and kind of seeing how the landscape set up and you do your research. When we watched Coby’s tape he was a guy that got us excited. Because again, he played our style of ball, he played fast, he played physically. Those are the things that (Dennis Allen) is looking for, that we’re looking for. We thought there was leadership there. He’s young and we had to adapt to that and we had the opportunity to bring a really good player in and that’s the decision that we made.”

Packers

• The Packers signed WR Skyy Moore to a one-year, $2.5 million deal that includes a $1 million signing bonus and a $1.215 million salary. (Wilson)

Vikings

• Regarding the Vikings signing QB Kyler Murray, Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom cites several NFL offensive coaches who are not high on J.J. McCarthy who think Murray will be able to win the starting job and “distance himself” from McCarthy. 
• La Canfora confirms that Murray is expected to get a “serious opportunity” to earn the starting role. 
• Citing sources with knowledge of the situation, La Canfora reports that McCarthy has struggled to develop chemistry with Minnesota’s top receivers and has yet to fully earn their trust. 
• One defensive coach commented that McCarthy doesn’t have a good understanding of how to deliver a catchable ball: “Everything comes out of McCarthy’s hand hot.”
• An anonymous GM who was in the market for a quarterback indicated that HC Kevin O’Connell was seeking a starter instead of a veteran backup:“O’Connell made sure he got first crack at him. He wasn’t looking for a backup, he’s looking for an upgrade. Look, I’m not a big Murray guy, but he’s a better quarterback than McCarthy. Is that really a question?”