Bears
- Chicago will pick up $7.1 million of DE Robert Quinn‘s remaining salary this year after trading him to Philadelphia. (Albert Breer)
- Bears GM Ryan Poles said it was tough to trade Quinn as he embraced their ideals behind what they’re trying to build as a team. Poles also acknowledged the impact Quinn had on the locker room: “When I took this job, he embodies everything we were looking for to get this thing started. The way he played and what he stood for as a human being. Part of the tough thing with this position are the tough decisions you have to make. There’s the emotional side and the human part of it where you know you’re not only affecting a man but his family. You’re shaking all that up. And I don’t take that lightly. You know that you are tweaking the fibers of your locker room. And that’s a big deal too. (Robert) meant a lot to that locker room.” (Dan Wiederer)
- Poles noted the draft capital will allow the team to continue to build the roster from the ground up: “On the business side, it just made too much sense for what we’re trying to do. This is going to allow us to continue to build a highly competitive roster.” (Wiederer)
- Poles said guys stepping up in the locker room and on the field allowed the team the opportunity to move on from Quinn: “I think the guys around him. I really do trust in Gipson, he’s had a good start to the season; Muhammad, he’s brought intensity and toughness to that group; and even young Dom Robinson has flashed, he tipped that ball that Roquan got the other day and has a promising future and I think he’s going to continue to trend upwards.” (Courtney Cronin)
- Poles said he feels good about where the team is at, but didn’t rule out additional moves before the trade deadline: “It’s hard to tell. I know we’ve got a few more days left. There’s not a ton going on right now. So I feel good about where we’re at.” (Cronin)
- Bears OC Luke Getsy had high praise of TE Cole Kmet‘s playmaking ability: “The guy’s been a stud for us. He makes critical plays. He plays as hard as anybody on this team.” (Kevin Fishbain)
- Getsy also thinks RG Teven Jenkins has done well to clear pathways for ball carriers: “I just love his play style.” (Adam Jahns)
- Bears RT Larry Borom has a concussion and did not practice Wednesday. (Fishbain)
Lions
Lions owner Sheila Ford-Hamp had a rare session with reporters where she said she will continue to support HC Dan Campbell and GM Brad Holmes. Detroit has the NFL’s worst record, which is not where it expected to be at this point even if the rebuild was still ongoing.
“It’s just this was a huge teardown and then turnaround, and we really — we’re only a third of the way through the season,” Ford-Hamp said, via Eric Woodyard of ESPN. “We’ve got 11 more games to go, so I just don’t want to ruin it, push the panic button and give up the ship because I think we’ve got the right people in place to pull this off, and I truly believe that. And I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t believe it.”
“Everyone’s frustrated. I’m frustrated, but again, I really believe in what we’ve got and what we’re going to be,” Ford Hamp continued. “It just takes time. What I really have confidence in is the process we went through in the first place when we hired Brad and Dan. It was extremely thorough, and we really believe we’ve come up with the right people, so I can’t comment on other teams’ rosters or what they had in the first place. All I know is what we had and where we’re going.”
Campbell said he remains in communication with Ford-Hamp and has been sharing his thoughts with her on the state of the team.
“Yeah, I told her everything that I saw, things that we needed to be better at, offensively, defensively, special teams, myself, and moving forward practice,” Campbell said. “So, really, everything. Everything that I looked at our team and felt like we needed to be better. I shared all of those thoughts with her and where we were going moving forward and that was it, so she’s been informed.”
Packers
Packers QB Aaron Rodgers said nobody has raised an issue with him in the locker room after his speech calling out players making too many mistakes on the field. Rodgers said he stands by his words and said that any conflict will help the team grow together.
“If one of those guys has a problem with it, I’m right here, and I’d love to have a conversation,” Rodgers said, via ESPN. “I enjoy those conversations. I enjoy any type of conflict like that because I know the resolution on the other side is going to make us a better unit, a better friendship, a better cohesion on the field. But nobody’s come to me and said, ‘I’ve got a problem with what you said.’ I think everybody knows, Matt included, that everything’s got to take a little uptick, get a little better.”
Rodgers said he was just being upfront about his feelings on the situation and reiterated that sometimes people need to hear the truth on the situation.
“I don’t understand why people have a problem with things that are truthful,” Rodgers said. “I’m calling things the way I see it. People don’t think I need to air that stuff out, that’s their opinion. But I’m doing what I think is in the best interest of our guys, and I’ve tried a lot of different things from a leadership standpoint this year, and I was just relating my personal feelings on the situation. I didn’t call anybody out by name. I think we all need to be on the details, and that includes me.”
Packers WR Sammy Watkins vocally supported Rodgers and said that he, as well as the rest of the team, needs to be held accountable when they’re not doing their job.
“If you’re not performing or executing or doing the things that you’re supposed to be doing, then I’m with Aaron,” Watkins said. “If I’m not playing well and I’m freaking up and busting plays, get me out of the game because that’s not helping the team. I think that’s a wake-up call to everybody, wake-up call to myself. I try to limit myself to having one M.A. a game and that’s my goal. The goal is to have none, but things happen in the fire. I’m with Aaron, man.”
Packers HC Matt LaFleur didn’t take issue with Rodgers comments and said the team needs to be truthful with one another.
“We have to be truthful with one another,” LaFleur said. “Sometimes the truth hurts…I don’t think he publicly called out individuals, I don’t believe, I didn’t sit there and listen to the whole thing, so I just think that you have to get to the root of the truth.“
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