Lions
Lions GM Brad Holmes had praise for rookie WR Isaac TeSlaa during a recent media appearance, with the third-round pick out of Arkansas turning heads during the preseason.
“He’s playing wide receiver like how we like our guys to play,” Holmes told Kay Adams on the Up & Adams Show on Monday. “He’s blocking, he’s training in the run game. I know when you hear blocking in the run game from a wide receiver, it’s like, ‘Well, you’ve got to catch the football,’ but that just shows a lot about the competitiveness and the desire of just a football player in general.”
“He said, ‘The Lions are my team and I’ve been watching how you guys play football and that’s how I like to play,’” Holmes added. “So, it’s cool that he kind of emulates his game after how we play. But literally, I haven’t seen a guy really block in the run game really like that since we took (Amon-Ra) St. Brown coming out. I just thought that ( St. Brown ) was a real ass-kicker in the run game, and I think ( TeSlaa ) is too. Again, I know that’s not everything, there is route running and development and catching and all that. All those things. And we have great coaches, and I think (assistant head coach) Scottie Montgomery is doing a great job with him in his development. So all those things, he’s got the tools to grow, he’s smart, but some of those other things, you either have that or you don’t. You either have that dog in you or you don’t, and he’s got it in him.”
Lions star WR Amon-Ra St. Brown also had good things to say about what the rookie brings to the table.
“He’s tough, he’s real tough,” St. Brown told Adams when asked about TeSlaa. “I love it. He goes in there and digs out safeties. Putting his head in there — maybe a little too much sometimes. I tell him, ‘Take it easy, you don’t want to get hurt, get a concussion.’ But he’s super tough. That’s what I love to see. Then he goes up and makes the contested catch. He’s going to be real good for us. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast, he’s smart, he’s bought in. I think as the season goes, he’s just going to keep continuing to get better.”
Packers
Ian Rapoport believes the Packers would be one of the teams “really interested” in trading for Cowboys pass rusher Micah Parsons.
Not only would the team have to make him one of the league’s highest-paid players, but Rapoport notes the trade would likely be similar to one the Bears pulled off for LB Khalil Mack seven years ago, which cost them two first-round picks and two other draft picks.
“I would expect that the Packers would be among the teams interested, and I would expect the Packers among the teams really interested,” Rapoport said Monday on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “They have money to spend, and they are really good. That’s the kind of team that I would say, if Micah was going to be traded, that he would be going to. We need one final piece. This guy is an absolute dog. He’s worth all the money so pay him all the money…but it’d be worth it, because you get Micah Parsons.”
Vikings
J.J. McCarthy played 13 snaps in the Vikings’ 20-10 preseason win over the Texans, marking a return from a torn ACL that halted his rookie year.
“It was just the journey that any injured player goes on to be back out there and doing the thing that they love,” McCarthy said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN. “It just shows how much I care for this game.”
Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell was pleased to see McCarthy complete an 18-yard pass to Jordan Addison and Minnesota’s offense convert five of 13 third downs.
“I love the fact that we were able to hit an explosive play in the pass game,” O’Connell said. “I love the fact that we converted some third downs. I love the fact that on the fourth down, he used his legs to ‘steal one.’ And I think there’s just a level of composure and poise to how he ran the show. That was exactly what I was looking for — and now we go back to work.”
McCarthy thinks there were moments he could’ve been more patient against the Texans and points out DC Brian Flores’ defense often forces him to get the ball out faster in practice.
“When you go against Flo’s defense, your timing is always like one hitch and it’s got to be out,” McCarthy said. “And I feel like there was a couple of occasions where I could have sat in there and trusted the pocket and made a better decision in that time frame. The one to Lucky across the middle, if I would’ve just waited a click longer, I would’ve found him in that window.”
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