NFC Notes: Lions, Packers, Vikings

Lions

Regarding the Lions trading CB Jeff Okudah to the Falcons, HC Dan Campbell said moving on was in the best interest of both parties. 

“We really felt like, at this time, this is probably the best thing for us and for Jeff,” Campbell said, via The Rich Eisen Show. “A new change of scenery and give him a fresh start. We felt really good about our guys. And, look, man, I appreciate Jeff. He was a pro, he came to work, he busted his ass. He worked at it. He was coming off an injury last year and we just felt like, ‘You know what, this is the right thing to do right now.’”

Packers

Packers G Elgton Jenkins knows that the team is going to undergo some changes as QB Aaron Rodgers moves on but feels like the team can still compete with QB Jordan Love as their starter.

“Obviously ’12’ is a Hall of Fame player and [we don’t know] what we’re going to get out of Jordan, but either way it goes, I feel like going forward, we’ll be good,” Jenkins said, via the Wisconsin State Journal. “As long as I can remember, Aaron Rodgers has been the quarterback here. But it’s a new chapter. We’ve got to embrace that and just move forward.”

“It’s going to be a big change,” Jenkins added. “It’s going to be a big difference. You’ve got a Hall of Fame quarterback that you’ve been playing in front of for the last four years. I’ll say mentally, it’s probably going to be different because he’s been playing the game for so many years. But like I said, I feel like we’ll be good.”

Vikings

Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell said he is “very excited” about Kirk Cousins and thinks they’ll be able to “fine-tune” some things going into next season.

“I’m very excited about Kirk in Year Two in this system,” O’Connell said, via ProFootballTalk. “It’s been a while since Kirk’s been able to say that he gets to come back in the same system he ran previously with the same play-caller. I’ve had a lot of great dialogue with him in ways we’re going to look to fine-tune what we did and grow and improve. That will be a big part of 2023 for me, not only as the head coach but as play-caller in our offensive staff.”