What NFL Teams Need/Want In The Offseason: NFC North

Note: This is an eight-part series that will run each day on OutKick, with one division in the NFL covered each day. Find the whole series here.

Lions: The most impactful move this team can make might be signing free agent cornerback Jaylon Johnson if he somehow slips through the work the Bears are going to do prior to free agency. That move would at once address the team's biggest need and also diminish a division rival. That cannot be the only move the Lions make to improve the pass defense. They should consider improving a solid but not dynamic pass rush. Emmanuel Mosley should return from knee surgery which is good. But Cam Sutton, Kindle Vildor and Jerry Jacobs were simply not good enough. You'll recall the Lions yielded 616 passing yards in their last two games of the season. They survived the one against Tampa Bay, but gave up a big lead in the third quarter against San Francisco and ultimately lost the NFC championship game. 

Packers: The Packers are staring at a $40 million cap hit for offensive tackle Davis Bakhtiari which is problematic because he's in the final year of his deal, is 33 years old, and he hasn't played a full season since 2019. The Packers can cut him and save $20 million in cap space, but that will leave about $19 million in dead cap space and the need to fill the spot with a dependable starter. This doesn't address the fact the Packers need a defensive makeover. But they are not without draft resources, owning two second-round and two third-round picks to go with their No. 25 overall pick in the first round. 

GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN - OCTOBER 29: Kirk Cousins #8 of the Minnesota Vikings looks to pass against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on October 29, 2023 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Vikings: The Vikings have to ultimately decide if they're contenders or not. If they think they are and the championship window is open, they probably have to extend Kirk Cousins before his current contract voids in March. Barring an extension, the Vikes will have no QB, but $28.5 million of dead money from Cousins' voidable years on the books. That would all but preclude a trade for Russell Wilson or even Jimmy Garoppolo, who aren't upgrades anyway. There's always the possibility of drafting a QB at No. 11, but that means the club is no longer looking to win now regardless of what narrative it writes.  

Bears: It all revolves around the Justin Fields decision, but it goes deeper than that if the Bears are going to become more than a middling franchise. Retaining cornerback Jaylon Johnson would be big, especially with other teams in the division needing secondary help and possibly looking to poach him. The pass rush, buoyed by the Montez Sweat trade, is still substandard and the Yannick Ngakue experiment cannot repeat because it's a band-aid on a deep gash. The Bears not only have the No. 1 overall selection but also No. 9 overall. Perhaps they can trade back, for a lower first-rounder plus a second-rounder which they lack. The club also is among the league's top 5 teams, boasting approximately $83 million in salary cap space. This should be a very active offseason for the Bears. Oh, yes, a possible Fields trade could bring a fourth-round pick this year or perhaps a conditional third next year if that's the direction the club goes.