Lions
Lions TE T.J. Hockenson said so far he and QB Jared Goff have had a strong connection.
“Jared’s my dog. He’s a great dude,” Hockenson said, via Pro Football Talk. “I threw with him a couple times this offseason out in L.A. and that guy just has a different mentality. I’ve been excited to have him, see the throws he’s made in 7-on[-7], see what kind of person he is, how he sees the game — there’s nothing like it. I really am excited to have him as my quarterback. The reads that he’s made, the reads that he’s done have been special. And I know that guy is ready to go — he really is.”
- ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler writes the Lions could always keep OT Tyrell Crosby as a valuable swing tackle but another team that needs a starter could see him as a trade target.
- Lions HC Dan Campbell told reporters DE Austin Bryant is dealing with a minor injury, but he’s expected to be 100 percent for training camp. (Justin Rogers)
- Campbell said he’s “not worried about” what the national media thinks about his racing helmet antic. (Kyle Meinke)
- Goff said Campbell and OC Anthony Lynn‘s offense has “empowered” him: “Fun for me to experience and be a part of guys that are really wanting to hear from me and wanting to hear what I like.” (Eric Woodyard)
Packers
Packers QB Jordan Love said he fully expects to be ready to start in Week 1 if it comes to that.
“A hundred percent,” Love said via ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. “Obviously, this is a time where I’m getting a lot of extremely valuable reps that I might not have been getting in a normal circumstance. So I’m just going to take it day by day. … But yeah, that’s what I’m here for. I was drafted here to play quarterback, so I’ll definitely be ready Week 1.”
Love added he’s tried to block the outside noise and just focus on improve.
“I’ve just been living my life, man, trying to do what I can do to get better in this offseason and obviously not knowing what’s going to happen next,” Love said. “My main thing’s been controlling what I can control and do my best to get better every day so that I’m ready whatever the circumstance may be come [the start of] the season. Just do my best to be ready for myself, for the team and for everybody here.”
“My mindset this whole offseason’s been to get ready, get myself ready, and that’s been my mindset since I got here,” Love said. “Whether Aaron was here or not here, that’s going to be my mindset regardless, because I have to get myself ready to play and be able to go out there and take charge of the team and be able to perform at a high level and do my best so everybody else can do their jobs as well and just be able to perform at a high level.”
Love had a particularly impressive practice on Wednesday, but Packers HC Matt LaFleur mentioned he doesn’t want Love to overreact to a particular stretch of plays.
“Listen, you can never get too high and never too low in this game,” LaFleur said. “One of the biggest emphases for Jordan is just to treat each play as its own entity. We’re always grading the decision-making, the timing, the accuracy, and we want to see the consistency just continue to get better and better.”
- According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, the situation between the Packers and QB Aaron Rodgers isn’t a staredown and there have been conversations, even though Rodgers hasn’t accepted anything yet.
- Love said after struggling in Tuesday’s practice, it was nice to have a strong day: “I definitely feel it was a good day for me and everybody else as well, just bouncing back from yesterday’s practice.” (Ryan Wood)
- Love added he’s spoken with Rodgers recently about the offseason: “Me and Aaron, we’ve got a good relationship.” (Wood)
- Packers LT David Bakhtiari said he hopes to have no restrictions once he gets back onto the field: “I’ve really just thrown the book at my knee and my goal is just whatever I can do to put my knee in the best situation to come back as healthy as possible. As soon as possible is what I’m working on and I’m working towards.” (Olivia Reiner)
- LaFleur said he is familiar with LB De’Vondre Campbell from their time with the Falcons: “He’s a guy that’s a big, long guy that can run. He definitely brings a different dynamic to that room.” (Matt Schneidman)
- The Packers have been experimenting with different lineups during OTAs and on Wednesday used an offensive line combination of LT Billy Turner-LG Jon Runyan Jr.-C Josh Myers-RG Lucas Patrick-RT Royce Newman. (Wood)
Vikings
- CBS Sports analyst and former agent Joel Corry writes that Vikings DE Danielle Hunter‘s best bet at a new deal might be playing out the 2021 season and having a big year, as he has little leverage with three years remaining on his current deal and coming off missing an entire season with a spinal injury.
- Corry says in his experience teams are loathe to create new precedent in deals and the Vikings redoing Hunter’s contract with three years remaining would fit that category. However, Minnesota adjusted WR Adam Thielen‘s contract with two years remaining, so it stands to reason they’d consider doing the same for Hunter next year.
- New Vikings CB Bashaud Breeland says he was brought on board as an outside cornerback and will compete with 2020 third-round CB Cameron Dantzler for a starting job. (Chris Tomasson)
- Breeland had shoulder surgery this offseason which delayed his free agency process but he’s on track in his recovery and expects to be ready for training camp. (Courtney Cronin)
- Vikings QB Kirk Cousins hasn’t had any issues with the team or third-round QB Kellen Mond: “There was good communication through the process. Kellen’s been great.” (Tomasson)
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