Report -- Minnesota Vikings have preliminary agreement on stadium - ESPN. The new plan for the Minnesota Vikings appears to be a stadium with a similar price tag ($975 million) to the one proposed last year for the suburb of Arden Hills, but at the site of the Metrodome instead.

This does look like progress, but they aren't popping the champagne at the Daily Norseman yet because it's not a done deal.

Packersnews.com | Green Bay Packers | Insiders Blog " Football Outsiders: Defensive line is Packers biggest need. Yep.

The Green Bay Packers don't have to re-acquire Cullen Jenkins, but finding someone who can replace his inside pass rush and sack total is the first priority. But they could also use some hustle, high motor guys too. A guy like Johnny Jolly (though not Jolly himself due to his ongoing legal and drug problems) can knock a few passes down at the line of scrimmage. Last season, of the defensive lineman, only Ryan Pickett and B.J. Raji recorded a pass defense and they only combined for a total of four. In Jolly's last season (2009) he recorded ten pass defenses all by himself as he excelled at sticking his arm up right as the quarterback was about to throw.

NFL Free Agency 2012: Anthony Spencer Could Receive Franchise Tag From Dallas Cowboys - SBNation.com. Maybe it was because he was a first round pick for the Dallas Cowboys, but he always seemed overhyped for no particular reason. I've been watching him the past couple seasons to see if he'd take a leap forward, but it doesn't seemed like it happened. And now he might get the franchise tag?

Let me compare him to another free agent outside linebacker. Both players are about the same height (6-2 to 6-3) and weight (250 to 257), but Spencer is a year and a half older.

Certainly there's a drop off in sack production, but neither of them look like the next DeMarcus Ware or Clay Matthews. And those marks are each player's highest single season sack total. Yet, Spencer might receive a franchise tag and get paid almost $9 million next season, while I'm not sure what the market will be for Walden.

Let's make a match: Finding the best free agent for your team - NFL - CBSSports.com News, Rumors, Scores, Stats, Fantasy Advice

The Green Bay Packers aren't going to sign any big name free agent from another team, but it's always interesting to speculate. A couple of the Packers own free agents are mentioned to other teams, while Pete Prisco picks a free agent for the Packers too.

Matt Flynn. He's listed as the best free agent for the Browns and Seahawks, two teams who could use an upgrade at quarterback. Though I'm not a huge Colt McCoy fan, I would expect him to improve with a couple of years more experience. But if I were the Browns, I'd rather find a franchise quarterback now rather than hope McCoy could become the next Drew Brees, who didn't really emerge as a good starting quarterback until his fourth pro season with the Chargers.

Jermichael Finley. To the Giants. I didn't really see that one coming. I'm not a fan of Mario Manningham, but I'd think the Giants would rather re-sign him. Plus, Jake Ballard might not provide much in 2012 as he recovers from a torn ACL, but he's a good tight end and he'll be part of their future.

Chiefs CB Brandon Carr to the Packers, and then Charles Woodson could move to safety. Though I'd actually expect Carr would replace Sam Shields and Woodson's role would remain unchanged.

I've seen Carr listed as the top cornerback available, or number two behind the Falcons CB Brent Grimes, but I've never been too impressed with Carr. He's a good player, but I wouldn't want to pay him $10 million per season. What do you think of him?

NFL Draft 2012: Strong Year For Interior Offensive Linemen, Mike Mayock Says - Arrowhead Pride. One area the Green Bay Packers might target in the upcoming draft is an interior offensive lineman. They don't have a lot of depth beyond their starters, and one of those starters, C Scott Wells, is about to be an unrestricted free agent. Also, LG T.J. Lang will be a free agent after next season, and depending on well he plays in 2012, he could price himself out of Green Bay in the same way LG Daryn Colledge did last year.

And as Mike Mayock says, it's a good year for interior lineman. At the center position, Wisconsin's Peter Konz and Georgia's Ben Jones stand out, but there is a drop off after them. At the guard position, there are seven players listed in the Top 80 according to NFL Draft Scout.

One player I noticed was Division II OG Amini Silatolu. His size and background as a somewhat unknown college player reminded me of what I read about Josh Sitton back in 2008. Like Sitton, he'll be switching from college tackle to NFL guard, and he appears to play with a nasty streak.

While it seems unlikely that the Packers will use their third consecutive first round selection on another offensive lineman, GM Ted Thompson has drafted at least one offensive lineman in the every draft he's ran. And he's taken an offensive lineman in the fourth round or earlier in every draft since 2006.

Forecasting the franchise tags | ProFootballTalk. Teams will begin using the franchise tag on players next Monday. Gregg Rosenthal lists eight players that he "would be stunned if these guys aren't tagged" and Green Bay Packers TE Jermichael Finley made the list.

The last time the Packers used the franchise tag was on Ryan Pickett two years ago. That was a strange season where I can only recall a few players receiving it. Last year, a record number of players did, which was partly due to the impending lockout. However the total might be even higher this year; Gregg Rosenthal mentioned almost 30 players who are candidates.

I'm a little surprised how slowly the free agent negotiations are going this offseason. It's not just the Packers; all these teams seem to be waiting for someone else to establish the market price at each position. That seems a little risky to me. There is a danger that the player you want to re-sign actually leaves. But it worked out fine for the Packers in recent years. They've let guys they wanted back like Chad Clifton and James Jones test the market, and re-signed them shortly after the free agent signing period began.

Franchise focus: Cliff Avril - NFC North Blog - ESPN. Matt Millen was a disaster for the Detroit Lions, but one of his last draft picks was his one of his best.

DE Cliff Avril certainly benefits from having DT Ndamukung Suh and DE Kyle Vandenbosch around, but Avril's always been a good pass rusher. He's had between 5 and 11 sacks in each of his first four seasons. And he'll only be 26 years old by the start of the season.

I've been expecting the Lions will keep him, I'm sure they want to, but they've got some major salary cap problems. They are almost at the top of the cap already, and Avril could be worth $10 million per season as a young, proven pass rusher. Do you think the Lions are going to be able to keep him? Even placing the franchise tag on him is a problem because they'd have to immediately clear some room by either releasing players or immediately restructuring other contracts.

Mac's Football Blog: Raiders Sign CB Brandon Underwood. The former Green Bay Packers defensive back hasn't played in the NFL since the team released him before the start of last season. New Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie certainly knew him from their time together in Green Bay, and he apparently thought he might have something to offer.

He was the top candidate to take over as the nickel back in 2010, but a poor preseason game against the Browns (and a subsequent injury) doomed his chances. Mike McCarthy had spoken well of his progress, but a 2010 police investigation, and his 2011 arrest on a domestic violence charge, didn't help him.

He had shown some potential so he still might make something of his NFL career.