Lions
Lions OC Darrell Bevell said he is excited to work with second-round RB D’Andre Swift and see how he understands their offense so far.
“I’m excited to get him out on the grass and see exactly what he’s got,” Bevell said, via Tim Twentyman of the team’s official site. “See how he can take this information from the meeting rooms and put it on the field and how well he can make the adjustments and see the things he needs to see to play at a high level for us.”
Bevell admitted that there still a lot of questions, considering that Swift didn’t have a full offseason this year.
“That remains to be seen. Unfortunately, since we haven’t been out there on the grass so much, I think a lot of the questions, that’s going to be the answer, we have to wait and see.”
Lions HC Matt Patricia mentioned that Swift has “a lot to learn” as a rookie and their coaching staff must work with him physically.
“Certainly very excited to have him in the building,” Patricia said. “Certainly from the running back position with a rookie, there’s a lot to learn, there’s a lot to go over, a lot of information, we did as much as we could virtually there. But it would be good to see that in live practice reps and to see the reaction time to that, not only when he has the ball in his hand but when he doesn’t and be able to get in to different positions and see defenses and recognize some of the things we do in the NFL that may be a little bit different for him.”
Packers
Packers WR Allen Lazard heads into the 2020 season as a virtual lock to be Green Bay’s No. 2 receiver, particularly after WR Devin Funchess opted out. It’s a major improvement from last year, when Lazard didn’t even make the final roster coming out of the preseason. But once he rejoined the team, Lazard made the most of his chances and earned a bigger role.
“He’s shown that he’s a really talented player on the field, and he’s coming into his own confidence-wise,” Packers WR Davante Adams said via Wes Hodkiewicz of the team website. “Once you start to truly believe you’re a really, really good player, and you know your role on the team and all that, that’s when you start to have an Allen Lazard. Really excited to see … this next year jump for him, because he’s a lot more confident.”
- Lazard’s rise coincided with the fall of WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling, as the rangy deep threat starter the season strong but fell off with just five catches for 36 yards in the final nine games. Adams wants to see Valdes-Scantling bounce back: “Really excited to see how Marquez bounces back from how he did last year. Obviously, he did a lot of great things, but there’s a lot he wishes he could have back. He’s definitely taking the right steps now.”
- Packers HC Matt LaFleur said an ankle injury hurt Valdes-Scantling’s confidence last year and a rebound in 2020 would be huge for the offense: “We need him to be a consistent performer for us because he does have incredible speed, and he scares the defense when he’s out on the field.” (Ryan Wood)
Vikings
- Vikings LB Cameron Smith announced Saturday he will miss the 2020 season after undergoing open-heart surgery to fix a bicuspid aortic valve. The condition was discovered after the 2019 fifth-round pick underwent a COVID-19 test: “Although this will unfortunately end my 2020 season, it is really a blessing that we found this as my heart is severely enlarged and wouldn’t have lasted much longer.”
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