NFC Notes: Matt LaFleur, Harrison Phillips, Lions, Packers, Vikings

Lions

Colton Pouncy of The Athletic highlighted a few different Lions players to watch ahead of the start of OTAs.

• Detroit QB Hendon Hooker was named, as Pouncy believes Hooker could be a trade candidate following the massive extension to QB Jared Goff. Pouncy doesn’t see a decision being made in 2024 but could come up “deeper into his rookie contract.”
• Pouncy also talks about WR Jameson Williams and states the team feels he can be a “dependable starter.” With the departure of WR Josh Reynolds, Pouncy thinks Williams is in line to be a full-time starter. 
• On the more general side, Pouncy plans to keep an eye on the new free agents like CB Carlton Davis III, the rookie class, and players heading into year two.
• Lions RB coach Scottie Montgomery was selected to attend the NFL’s head coaching accelerator program. (Jonathan Jones)

Packers

• Packers DE Kingsley Enagbare is practicing during OTAs after recovering from his ACL injury, per Ryan Wood. 
• Green Bay HC Matt LaFleur on Enagbare: “He’s a full go. He’s doing a great job out there. He never had surgery; didn’t tear it. We dodged a bullet there.” (Wes Hodkiewicz)
• LaFleur said “time will tell” if they have a better handle on WR Christian Watson‘s hamstring injuries: “If we get through (training camp), we’ll feel pretty good about it.” (Rob Demovsky)
• Packers RB Josh Jacobs is dealing with a hamstring issue but LaFleur expects him back soon. (Bill Huber)
• Both TE Tucker Kraft and OL Zach Tom have pectoral injuries but should be back for training camp, per LaFleur. (Huber)

Vikings

The Vikings lost QB Kirk Cousins to the Falcons in free agency after his price rose out of their range. Minnesota DT Harrison Phillips gave insight into how the locker room plans to move on without Cousins.

“There’s gonna be a huge loss,” Phillips said, via Bobby Kownack of NFL.com. “Kirk Cousins as a person, as a leader, as a teammate, that’s a big void in your locker room. One of the most humble guys that I’ve ever been around. Servant leader, just a great motivator. He’s great. To ask one person to fill that void is probably not probable. So what we’re going to do is have a great leadership team, which we’ve already seen.

“There’s already guys that I’ve seen these last few seasons being on this roster — some are captains, some are not captains yet but will be in their careers — and so we’re going to pass that torch off and kind of division of labor. We’re going to all carry that load together, and maybe we can be a better football team for it.”