NFC Notes: Lions, Packers, Vikings

“That’s the NFL,” Thielen said in an interview with ESPN. “Your team changes year to year. Your room changes, the receiver room is going to change year to year. I’m actually just excited about the depth of that room. Nobody probably knows about the depth of our room, and the guys that we’ve got coming in. But I’ve been around a few of those guys, been able to train with them and work out with them. I’m just really excited about our room. Whether it be young guys or some veterans that we added. It’s going to be different, but it’s going to be good.”

As far as the organization’s decision to trade Diggs, who had expressed his unhappiness with the team at various points, Thielen said he thinks it will ultimately be the best move for both sides. 

“It is what it is, right? I don’t know if you can say it’s good or bad,” he said. “But at the end of the day, this organization, the people in those jobs, we trust them that they’re doing what’s best for this team to win games, to ultimately help us reach our ultimate goal. And at the same time, I’m happy for Diggs because he’s in a place where he’s happy and excited. We still talk on a regular basis, and I always want what’s best for Diggs as well. I think at the end of the day, I don’t know, you’d have to ask him, but I think it’s a win-win. He’s happy, and I think the team feels like they did what was best to win.”

• ESPN’s Courtney Cronin mentions Vikings WR Olabisi Johnson might be the current leader for the No. 3 receiver. He’ll compete with free-agent signing Tajae Sharpe, Chad Beebe and fifth-round rookie K.J. Osborn.
• One way the Vikings could handle losing Diggs is by giving second-year TE Irv Smith a larger role in the passing game. New OC Gary Kubiak is high on Smith’s potential: “I think there’s a big, big upside here. I love Irv as a kid and as a competitor. He really enjoys coming to work every day, and he’s benefited from sitting back there right next to ‘Rudy’ [Kyle Rudolph] every day and watching a seasoned pro go about it. So I think there’s a lot more there, and Irv’s going to give it to us, and I’ve got to make sure that I get him in position to do that.”
• While Kubiak is new, he was on staff last year and will run the same system, which the Vikings believe will be huge for QB Kirk Cousins, as this is the first time since he’s become a starting quarterback that he is going into his second consecutive year in the same offense. 
• Matthew Coller of Purple Insider and KSTP’s Darren Wolfson both report Vikings HC Mike Zimmer‘s extension is for three years and runs through the end of the 2023 season. 
• An extension for Vikings GM Rick Spielman is also expected and will likely run concurrently with Zimmer like it has since 2014. (Cronin)
• Zimmer didn’t want to settle for just a one-year extension tacked on to 2020 and pointed to his resume with the Vikings as one of their winningest coaches in team history and their consistent strength on defense. (Chad Graff)
• Graff notes there are some fair questions about how high Minnesota’s ceiling is under Zimmer but it wasn’t fair to make 2020 a referendum year given how many transitions the team was undergoing.