NFC Notes: Lions, Packers, Vikings

Lions

Lions LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. However, the team isn’t shy about wanting him back in Detroit to compete for a starting linebacker position.

“He will have his chance to be our starting inside linebacker,” Lions DC Aaron Glenn said, via Detroit Free Press. “He’s had a great year. Still has a ways to go, but we’re excited about that player.”

Lions HC Dan Campbell pointed out Reeves-Maybin when talking about the team’s most valuable players outside of QB Jared Goff.

“There’s a number of guys, but I mean certainly one of the first ones that pops in my head is, Jalen Reeves-Maybin pops up,” Campbell said. “I know he missed a couple of games here due to injury, but when he’s been out there on defense and on special teams, he just, he makes plays. He’s a football player. And that doesn’t go unnoticed.”

Reeves-Maybin played every snap on defense last week for the first time in his career. Glenn said a player that makes plays and flies around the football is hard to keep off of the field.

“Man, that guy is a football player,” Glenn said. “The thing is he loves football. You clearly see that when he’s on the field. Anytime you have a player of that magnitude, man, you can’t help but just put him on the field and you can’t help but just play him.”

Packers

• Tom Silverstein reports that Packers’ CB Jaire Alexander has been testing his range of motion in his shoulder, with the last step coming when he needs to lower the shoulder in order to make tackles.
• Packers OC Nathaniel Hackett said nothing concrete has been set in stone regarding an interview with the Jaguars for their head coach position. Hackett said he’s focused on the Vikings and leaving the interview planning to his agent. (Matt Schneidman)
• The Green Bay Packers worked out P Johnny Townsend on Friday, according to Aaron Wilson.

Vikings

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson said he hasn’t spoken to HC Mike Zimmer following the team’s loss on Sunday. Jefferson noted that the team lacked energy and was unsatisfied with his red zone usage.

“Nah,” he said, via Twin Cities. “I had seen his little interview, though, but, yeah, I agree with him, just being frustrated,” Jefferson said. “I definitely don’t feel like we had enough energy that we should’ve had, especially going against a team like that. We got to run off that energy, that high motor, that tempo. I felt like we were lacking that. We didn’t really talk about that too much. (Zimmer) knows me as a person, knows who I am, and knows I won’t say anything to hurt the team or hurt anybody.”