NFC North Notes: Bradford, Adams, Lions

Despite Sam Bradford having expected to have a good idea about his Monday-night playing status after the Vikings‘ Saturday practice, the quarterback is officially listed as questionable for Week 5. Considering the starting signal-caller was declared out during the past two work weeks for Minnesota’s Week 3 and Week 4 games, this is progress. But Mike Zimmer (via Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, on Twitter) either doesn’t look to have seen much more from Bradford over the past two practices compared to Thursday’s, or he’s keeping encouraging news close to the vest. Although the coach said his preferred passer looks “good,” this is likely going to be a game-time decision — one that could end up with Case Keenum starting a fourth consecutive game.

Here’s the latest from the rest of the NFC North, continuing on the injury front in Green Bay.

• Davante Adams has surmounted the concussion protocol and expects to suit up for the Packers against the Cowboys, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports. This would come as a slight surprise given the severity of the hospitalization-forcing hit Adams absorbed the last time he was on a game field, but the fourth-year wide receiver did have an extra three days to go through the protocol. Demovsky heard Adams was cleared just before the team boarded the plane for Dallas, and Mike McCarthy said earlier this week he would have a good idea about Adams’ playing status by that time. Adams also suffered a concussion last season but was cleared without missing a game.
• With each passing game, the chances are increasing the Lions will cut Eric Ebron rather than pay him the $8.25MM he’d be owed in 2018 via the fifth-year option, Kyle Meinke of MLive.com writes. Ebron has played in all four Detroit games but only has 11 catches for 87 yards. Meinke notes fourth-round rookie Michael Roberts could serve as a replacement at a fraction of the cost next season.
• The Lions will want to hang onto Ziggy Ansah, but their top pass rusher’s age, recent injury history and sporadic production since 2016 — sacks in just three of the past 20 regular-season games — will make the 29-year-old defensive end a franchise tag candidate, Meinke writes. Meinke doesn’t envision, at least as of now, the Lions making a long-term commitment to Ansah based off this recent work sample. Nothing’s emerged on an extension front since March, when the Lions were planning a re-up. Questions about the Ghana native’s actual age surfaced earlier this year as well. Needless to say, the next three-plus months will be big for the 2014 first-round pick. It cost $16.9MM to franchise a defensive end this year, so that number could approach or surpass $18MM in 2018.
• The Bears are likely to have a full-on skeleton crew at inside linebacker Monday night. With Nick Kwiatkoski doubtful to return from a pectoral injury sustained in Week 2, per Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter), the Bears would be without their top three inside ‘backers. Danny Trevathan will serve his one-game suspension Monday night, and Jerrell Freeman (pec) is on IR. Christian Jones and a to-be-determined player will start there against the Vikings.