OTAs, or Organized Team Activities —the semi-Orwellian term for voluntary mini-camps —have started, and we're finally getting some good tidbits about each of the North teams. Let's highlight the interesting stuff.
Bears
You may have heard about an upcoming Seth Wickersham book that details the moves Caleb Williams and his family considered making to dodge being drafted by the Bears. In Williams' first press conference since the news broke, he responded to the report. Interestingly, he didn't fully deny it, instead choosing to acknowledge that it happened and say that he's focused on the present and happy to be in Chicago now.
Unsurprisingly, Case Keenum looks likely to be the Bears' backup. Last season, Tyson Bageant was the backup and his dad reportedly lied to the media about the Bears players wanting Tyson to start instead of Caleb Williams. What an odd situation. Only in Chicago.
The defense has looked strong in practice, picking off Williams multiple times and starting Montez Sweat and new edge rusher Dayo Odeyingbo. Sweat said in a press conference that an injury affected his play last year. He declined to say what the injury was.
I'm not shocked that the offense is starting slow - Ben Johnson seems like a hyper-detailed coach and you have to train that up in levels. If they can't move the ball in the pre-season, starting getting nervous (or just don't be surprised because it's the Bears).
Lions
The Lions are only a couple of days in, so not much news here. Some Lions bloggers are bragging about how ancient ex-Lions went to their OTAs but are skipping their current teams. Sheesh.
The big news is that Aidan Hutchinson was cleared to practice after his horrendous leg injury last year. Some video of him working out earlier in the off-season looked pretty rough so he'll be an interesting watch in OTAs and training camp.
Isaac TeSlaa, who you may remember as one of the biggest reaches in the draft according to the consensus big board, missed day one, possibly due to an undisclosed injury.
Frank Ragnow, Alex Anzalone and Amon-Ra St. Brown haven't been seen on the field yet. Don't tell that blogger.
Vikings
The biggest news for the Vikings is whispers about the potential that they could trade for Jalen Ramsey. I say go for it, he's worth at least a first and an extension.
The Vikings pass-catching trio of Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockeson were all there to work with quasi-rookie JJ McCarthy. Mainly in 7-on-7 which head coach Kevin O'Connell remarked was perfect for evaluating whether McCarthy is reading plays out with his feet and eyes correctly.
Third-year linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. was the start of the defense on day one, intercepting McCarthy's first pass and breaking up another to Aaron Jones. Pace had a great rookie season as an UDFA but was up and down last year. It would mean a lot for this defense if he took a big step.
The team is missing two set-in-stone offensive line starters, Will Fries and Christian Darrisaw. Fries broke his leg last year and will be back for week 1 and probably training camp. Darrisaw tore his ACL and MCL and had surgery in November. Even if he's back by week 1 it's unlikely he'll be close to the all-pro level player he was a few years ago.
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Mike Price is a lifelong Packers fan who recently moved from Utah to Stoughton (a Madison suberb). You can follow him on twitter at @themikeprice.
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