We're Black and Blue All Over:

News that Detroit Lions running back Jahvid Best will be cleared for football activities in June was not unexpected but still odd for its timing.

Best has been recovering from two concussions suffered last season. The Lions have maintained optimism about his return while noting it is impossible to project a timetable on his recovery. So general manager Martin Mayhew's announcement means one of two things:

Either Best has already passed the medical tests required for full participation and the Lions are simply waiting until next month to put him on the field. Or, the timing of his progress suggests his recovery will be complete next month. The latter is not quite as definitive.

Ultimately, though, the big-picture news is that it continues to appear likely that Best will be ready when the Lions begin their serious on-field preparations for the 2012 season.

Continuing around the NFC North:

• The Lions signed veteran receiver Lance Long, notes Anwar S. Richardson of Mlive.com.
• Lions running back Mikel Leshoure has a preliminary exam hearing on May 11 in connection with two marijuana-related legal entanglements, according to Eric Lacy of the Detroit News.
• The Minnesota Vikings released running back Caleb King, who was arrested over the weekend in connection with an alleged assault. The St. Paul Pioneer Press has more on the story of a running back who spent most of last season on the Vikings' practice squad.
• The Star Tribune has the latest on an unexpected twist to the Vikings' stadium bill, including the fact that the bill's authors were not looped in on a new idea for a roofless, bonded stadium.
• The Green Bay Packers are likely to shuffle their front office now that the draft is complete, writes Rob Demovsky of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
• The selection of linebacker Nick Perry is a risk, writes Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
• The Packers' NFC North rivals spent the draft trying to fortify themselves to beat Green Bay, writes Tom Oates of the Wisconsin State Journal.
• Troy offensive lineman James Brown could be a sleeper for the Chicago Bears, according to Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times.
• Bears receiver Earl Bennett told a 670-AM, via the Chicago Tribune, that quarterback Jay Cutler and his fiancé, Kristin Cavallari, are expecting a boy.