Now that he’s officially a member of the Vikings, linebacker Desmond Bishop will face his former teammates from Green Bay at least twice during the 2013 season.
During an appearance on the NFL Network Tuesday, Bishop said that was part of the reason why he decided to make the move from Wisconsin to Minnesota. He’s looking forward to a matchup with one member of the Packers offense in particular.
“It was part of the reason,” Bishop said. “And if I can get a chance to play against Aaron Rodgers, I think that right there, in itself, is a motivation. You know, you want to play against the best.”
It also can’t hurt that the Packers decided to jettison Bishop in favor of other inside linebackers and without much discussion of a reworked contract that would have made more financial sense for the team.
Bishop also said that he isn’t concerned about making the move from a 3-4 scheme to the Vikings’ 4-3 look, where he’s expected to play middle linebacker with Erin Henderson moving back to the weak-side of the base defense. Bishop is confident he can play any position “with success” and that belief will certainly be put to the test when the Vikings and Packers square off in their eternal battle for control of the NFC North.