It was a fairly quiet weekend but the NFC North did make some moves in free agency.
Bears
The Bears made the most noise with two big defensive signings. The Bears signed ILB Jerrell Freeman to a 3 year 12 million dollar deal. There are incentives that could make the deal over 14 million. Six million was guaranteed and the signing bonus was 1.5 million. Freeman will have a cap hit of 4 million all three years. This is a great signing by the Bears and their Inside Linebackers are very strong now with this signing and the addition of Danny Trevathan. Are the monsters of the midway back? Adrian Peterson will be jealous a Freeman is in the NFC North.
The Bears also added DT/DE Akiem Hicks. Hicks signed a two year deal with the Bears and will play 3-4 DE. Hicks has ties with Ryan Pace from New Orleans. Hicks was traded from New Orleans to the Patriots and played well in 2015. Hicks had a +11.2 PFF grade. The Bears defense is looking formidable for a change. Congrats to the Southies as they aren’t the only Hicks we can talk about now.
Lions
Detroit had a visit with Russell Okung. The visit went well but Okung did not sign yet and visited with the Steelers on Sunday. Okung would be a nice haul for Detroit. He is more durable than people think and played in all 12 of the Seahawks playoff games since 2010. Okung is a good left tackle and has a lot of interest. We’ll see which team he chooses.
The Lions also signed Rafael Bush to a one year 2.5 million dollar deal. Bush should start opposite of Glover Quin. Bush tore his pectoral muscle in Week 1 of the 2015 season and missed 6 games with a broken leg in 2014. If Bush can stay healthy, he can be a good player like in the 2013 season. I feel like I’ve typed this sentence before out a Bush from New Orleans.
The Lions also re-signed Dan Orlovsky as the back-up Quarterback. The probability is high Detroit still drafts a developmental QB on day 3 of the draft. The Lions re-signed Don Mulbach for his 13th season as long snapper. The Mule is dependable. Crezdon Butler was also signed on a vet minimum deal for CB depth. Butler made the big pass break up at Lambeau Field allowing the Lions to beat the Packers.
Packers
The Packers lost two players in free agency this weekend. Scott Tolzien signed a two year deal to back up Andre Luck with the Colts. The Packers turn to Brett Hundley as their backup. Hundley was a 2015 5th round pick and played well last pre-season.
The Packers lost slot CB Casey Hayward to the Chargers. Hayward signed a 3 year 15 million dollar deal with San Diego and should net the Packers a 5th round compensatory pick next offseason. Hayward was a good slot CB and played more snaps than any Packers CB. Quentin Rollins and Micah Hyde must step up in 2016. They have a lot to prove to match Hayward’s performance. Carry on my Hayward son. Talent hell to Green Bay comes.
Vikings
Andre Smith is set to visit the Vikings. The Vikings got a pay cut from Phil Loadholdt but he is still recovering from his torn Achilles. Smith is a good run blocker and Zimmer knows him from the Bengals. Maybe he’ll follow in McKinnie’s footsteps and charter a new party boat.
Mike Wallace has some interest from the Ravens. There were rumors of Wallace maybe returning to the Vikings. We’ll see if the Ravens sign Wallace on Monday to give Flacco his deep threat with Torrey Smith taking his “talents” to the 49ers last offseason.