NFC Notes: Lions, Vikings, Patrick Peterson

Lions

New Lions CB Nickell Robey-Coleman said he just felt that Detroit was the “right opportunity” for him. 

“This was the right opportunity for me because of the people that are here running things. I felt like I could come here, put a footprint in this organization, actually be a part of this leadership, and do something special, do something big. Not just win, but win big,” Robey-Coleman said, via LionsWire.com.

 “It’s a mutual feeling between us two. We know how it is, how it went. It’s just something that happened, and we just moved on. But now I’m here ready to start something new, something different.”

Vikings

• Vikings DE Danielle Hunter said he doesn’t have any concerns over his previous neck injury: “After the first practice, I was like, ‘There’s nothing for me to worry about.” (Chris Tomasson)
• Hunter reiterated that he is “unrestricted” with practicing and playing going forward. (Andrew Krammer)
• Vikings OC Klint Kubiak wouldn’t put a timetable of recovery for rookie OT Christian Darrisaw following minor surgery on a core muscle: “I wouldn’t put a number on it. With any player coming off an injury, they’re all different. I would say when he’s been here.” (Courtney Cronin)
• Yannick Ngakoue tells Jeremy Fowler that he could have stayed with the Vikings, but chose to leave and was later traded to the Ravens.
• Vikings LB Cam Smith is hopeful to become a strong role model after return from open-heart surgery: “I think it’s a unique situation that I was in. I’m just hoping to do my best to be a role model for a lot of people out there that have bumps in the road to keep fighting and get back in the game, into whatever you love.” (Chris Tomasson)

Patrick Peterson

Vikings’ new CB Patrick Peterson said he was “frustrated” with his former team’s management in Arizona after being unable to reach an agreement. 

“I was just frustrated and upset at how upper management handled the situation,” said Peterson, via Dan Pompei of The Athletic. “You tell me one thing, then when it’s time to talk, you turn your shoulder on me like it’s cold shoulder. I’ve been in this league a long time. Thirty years old. Grown man. Talk to me like a grown man, not like a child or your side piece.”

Peterson, who signed a one-year, $8 million deal, is confident that his value will increase when the salary cap increases next offseason. 

“I’m willing to bet on myself for this season knowing the salary cap is going to go back up, and I can have opportunities to come back to the table and get more than what I got this year,” Peterson said. 

Peterson mentioned that Cardinals GM Steve Keim reached out to him after ignoring him during potential negotiating periods. 

“He had the nerve to text me, talking about how I love you, wish you nothing but the best. Now your phone work all of a sudden. I found that as the ultimate disrespect right there.”

Peterson feels that moving to Minnesota will be a great experience for his family. 

“It’s great for me and my family to experience something new,” said Peterson. “It’s a completely different lifestyle. I will have the opportunity to experience some seasons now versus just having the desert and the sun year-round.”