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As you know, NFL teams were required to reduce their rosters to 80 players by Tuesday. That high figure allowed most teams to save difficult decisions for Saturday's final cut down deadline for 53-man rosters. We'll take a look at some of the NFC North's top looming questions over the coming days, but for now let's get you up to date on how each team got to 80 players.

Chicago Bears: Released five players Monday, including defensive end Vernon Gholston. Running back Chester Taylor was not among those released and told reporters he expects to play in Thursday's preseason finale.

Detroit Lions: Released eight players Monday, including running back Mike Bell and place-kicker Dave Rayner, and released fullback Jerome Felton on Tuesday. The Lions appear to be moving away from the fullback position. Running back Mikel Leshoure, on injured reserve, no longer counts against the Lions' roster limit.

Green Bay Packers: Released three players Sunday, including tight end Spencer Havner and receiver Brett Swain, and three more Tuesday.

Minnesota Vikings: Released 10 players Monday, including quarterback Rhett Bomar.

All NFL teams must cut their roster from 90 to 80 players by Tuesday, and the Green Bay Packers got started Sunday morning before hitting the practice field.

Among those released were a pair of recognizable names, tight end Spencer Havner and receiver Brett Swain, whose early departures speak to the depth and fierce competition at their respective positions.

All five tight ends remaining on the Packers roster, including rookies D.J. Williams and Ryan Taylor, have legitimate chances to make the final roster. The Packers also have 11 receivers left and are judging strong summer performances from youngsters Chastin West and Tori Gurley, among others.

The moves leave the Packers with a total of 83 players. Teams will be allowed to carry 80 players until Sept. 3, when the final cutdown to 53 is required.

Before Friday, I had never had the remote inclination to watch a championship team's visit to the White House. So while I have no context for comparison, the Green Bay Packers' visit Friday afternoon was fun and particularly interesting for its NFC North angles.

Among them: the president of the United States' request to trade quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the Chicago Bears. More in a bit.

President Barack Obama, of course, is a longtime Bears fan who provided the Packers some bulletin-board material in January when he said he would attend Super Bowl XLV only if the Bears won the NFC Championship Game. After the Packers' victory, cornerback Charles Woodson told teammates that if Obama didn't want to see the Packers play in the Super Bowl, "we'll go see him" by winning it.

On Friday, Obama said he had learned something during that episode: "Don't mess with Charles Woodson."

In light-hearted remarks during a 10-minute ceremony, Obama said: "I'm just going to come out and say it: This hurts a little bit. This is a hard thing for a Bears fan to do."

He added: "You guys [are] coming into my house to rub it in. What are you going to do, go to Ditka's house next?"

Packers fans, Obama said, should "enjoy it while it lasts" because Bears fans "have two dates circled" this season -- the two Bears-Packers games. Joking, I think, Obama reminded the Packers that "if you guys are on a roll" late in the season, "just keep in mind that there is only one person here who can ground all planes in and out of Green Bay if he has to."

Obama got in the obligatory joke about linebacker Clay Matthews' hair and, after Woodson presented him with an honorary share of Packers stock, Obama said: "If I'm a part owner, what I'm thinking is we should initiate a trade to send Rodgers down to the Bears. What do you think?"

Woodson then clarified that Obama is "a minority owner."


(An aside: Jay Cutler just can't get an ounce of love -- not even from the president of the United States!)

Meanwhile, Packers players filled Twitter with some cool photographs from their day at the White House. Some of the best:

• Linebacker A.J. Hawk, tight end Spencer Havner, linebacker Brad Jones and Rodgers in front of an Abraham Lincoln portrait.
• A view of the White House you don't normally see from tight end Tom Crabtree.
• Safety Nick Collins' view of Obama's entrance with coach Mike McCarthy, team president Mark Murphy and general manager Ted Thompson (not shown).
• Receiver Greg Jennings' photo with Woodson and Obama.

In a classy move, the Packers brought former right tackle Mark Tauscher with them on the trip. Tauscher was released this summer. Meanwhile, linebacker Desmond Bishop tweeted that he left his identification in the Packers' team plane and was denied access to the ceremony.

In this topsy-turvy post-lockout world, we have all assumed that the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) would be formally ratified by Thursday. In turn, all players who agreed to new contracts since last Monday would finally be allowed to begin practicing.

While there has been no formal announcement, it is by far a done deal that those players will be on the field Thursday -- especially for teams that have morning practices. Wednesday evening, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told The NFL Network that free agents might not be eligible to practice Thursday. As a result the Minnesota Vikings have pushed their main practice to a 4 p.m. ET start, hoping the CBA will be ratified by then.

In the NFC North, some big names have been standing on the sideline awaiting final ratification. I've included an extended, but not necessarily all-inclusive, list below. We'll keep you updated when and if final word comes down Wednesday night.

Chicago Bears: Defensive tackle Anthony Adams, running back Marion Barber, defensive end Vernon Gholston, cornerback Corey Graham, receiver Sam Hurd, linebacker Brian Iwuh, defensive tackle Amobi Okoye, punter Adam Podlesh, linebacker Nick Roach, tight end Matt Spaeth, center Chris Spencer, receiver Roy Williams

Detroit Lions: Receiver Rashied Davis, cornerback Chris Houston, place-kicker Dave Rayner, linebacker Justin Durant, quarterback Drew Stanton, linebacker Stephen Tulloch, cornerback Eric Wright

Green Bay Packers: Place-kicker Mason Crosby, tight end Spencer Havner, running back John Kuhn, receiver James Jones.

Minnesota Vikings: Safety Husain Abdullah, receiver Devin Aromashodu, nose tackle Remi Ayodele, receiver Bernard Berrian, receiver Michael Jenkins, offensive lineman Charlie Johnson, place-kicker Ryan Longwell, quarterback Donovan McNabb.

Thirteen.

You read that correctly.

It's the number of players the Green Bay Packers now have on injured reserve after adding linebacker Brandon Chillar (shoulder) and tight end Spencer Havner (hamstring) to the list Tuesday. Both players suffered recurrences of previous injuries in Sunday's 20-17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, and the Packers apparently weren't able to carry either of them on the 53-man roster during rehabilitation.

Neither roster spot had been filled as of Tuesday afternoon.

ATLANTA -- Here are some highlights of the inactive lists in Atlanta and Washington, D.C.:

• The Green Bay Packers deactivated tight end Donald Lee and will start rookie Andrew Quarless. Tom Crabtree and Spencer Havner will be available in reserve.
• As expected, the Packers will have only three safeties available: Starts Nick Collins and Charlie Peprah, along with backup Jarrett Bush. Atari Bigby (hamstring) and Anthony Smith (ankle) are inactive.
• The Minnesota Vikings deactivated receiver Bernard Berrian, who has been dealing with a groin injury for the past three weeks. Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin will start against the Washington Redskins.
• Rookie Vikings cornerback Chris Cook won't play. Cook was added to the injury report Friday because of a knee injury, but after the way he played last week against the Green Bay Packers, you wonder if this was just a soft demotion.
• Ryan Cook will start at right guard for the Vikings, replacing the injured Anthony Herrera.

MINNEAPOLIS -- All of the Minnesota Vikings' and Green Bay Packers' injured receivers are active and expected to play Sunday at the Metrodome.

That list includes the Vikings' Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin. The Packers will also have Donald Driver, who has been limited by a quadriceps injury.

There were no real surprises on either team's inactive list. Packers fans won't get a chance to see running back James Starks or tight end Spencer Havner, both of whom are inactive. The Vikings, meanwhile, deactivated cornerback Lito Sheppard upon the return of cornerback Asher Allen (concussion).

We're Black and Blue All Over:

You're on the right track if the name "Tyler Thigpen" rings a bell. The quarterback expected to start Thursday night against the Chicago Bears was a seventh-round draft pick of the Minnesota Vikings in 2007. (It always goes back to the Vikings, doesn't it?)

The Vikings liked Thigpen and wanted to develop him as a long-term project. But they weren't willing to create a roster spot to do it, and instead tried to slip him through waivers and place him on the practice squad. (The backup quarterbacks they kept instead, Brooks Bollinger and Kelly Holcomb, are long gone.) The Kansas City Chiefs claimed Thigpen largely because he impressed them during a joint training camp practice, and he had an impressive stretch of 11 starts during the 2008 season. The Chiefs traded him to the Miami Dolphins in 2009.

Jeff Darlington of the Miami Herald chronicles Thigpen's journey. Bears fans might be rejoicing in facing the Dolphins' No. 3 quarterback, but rest assured he has more experience and skill than the players that fill that job for many teams.

• Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel asks whether the Green Bay Packers will get any help from their new running back depth.
• Once and current Packers tight end/linebacker Spencer Havner didn't burn any bridges after being waived this summer, notes Mike Vandermause of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
• The Detroit Lions' run blocking has been suspect this season, writes Chris McCosky of the Detroit News.
• On Sunday, the Lions will face ex-teammates Jon Kitna and Roy Williams, who now play for the Dallas Cowboys. Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press has more.
• The Lions have the worst record in NFL history for any team that has outscored its opponents at this point in the season, Michael David Smith writes in the Wall Street Journal.
• The short week left the Bears practicing on Tuesday. All players participated on at least a limited basis and should be available for Thursday night's game against Miami, according to Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com.
• Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is using his mobility to his advantage lately, writes Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune.
• The Bears' offense is improving, according to Mike Mulligan of the Chicago Sun-Times.
• The Star Tribune considers the possibility that Minnesota Vikings receiver Sidney Rice will opt out of playing at all this season because of a hip injury and concerns about how his value could be impacted on the free-agent market.
• Tom Powers of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes that Vikings owner Zygi Wilf needs to hire a "football czar" to straighten out his team.
• The Pioneer Press: "Vikings defensive tackles Kevin Williams and Pat Williams today will ask the Minnesota Court of Appeals to permanently block the NFL from suspending them four games because the league violated state drug-testing laws when it tried to punish them in 2008."

Has the Green Bay Packers career of Mark Tauscher come to an end on the Friday of a bye week? That's the question you have to ask after the Packers placed Tauscher on injured reserve because of a shoulder injury suffered Oct. 3.

The National Football Post reported at the time that the injury was feared to be season-ending, but the Packers gave Tauscher more than a month to recover before finally making the move. Rookie Bryan Bulaga has started five games in Tauscher's absence and is expected to remain at right tackle for the rest of the season.

Tauscher, 33, has been the Packers' right tackle for the past decade but injuries have cut short four of his past five seasons. The Packers signed him to a two-year contract last winter but could part ways with him this offseason.

Many of you are already asking if Bulaga is now the Packers' long-term answer at right tackle, or if they will one day return him to his original left tackle position. That's a question for the offseason, but generally speaking, left tackle is a difficult position to fill. If you have a player that can handle it, it makes sense to utilize him there and find someone else to play right tackle.

And, for all of you Spencer Havnerites out there: The Packers used Tauscher's roster spot to re-sign the tight end/linebacker.

I had to laugh at the gallows humor you generated in Wednesday's post detailing what appears to be a season-ending knee injury for Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley.

Ellamont76 asked for a little sugar to coat the devastating news. Doug Pretty responded with a line from a currently-running television ad: "Jermichael Finley is out for the season, but I have some good news! I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico!"

"Thanks, that's better," Ellamont76 responded. "I've just been closing my eyes, plugging my ears and saying 'La la la la I can't hear you.'"

On Wednesday, the Packers practiced without nine prominent players, all of whom began the season healthy but are now sidelined by injuries. As you can see in the chart at the bottom of the post, the list includes some of the biggest names on their roster. Two others, cornerback Al Harris and safety Atari Bigby, are on the physically unable to perform list.

Many of us tapped the Packers as preseason NFC North favorites. Should we plug our ears and sing "La, la, la, la, la, I can't hear you?" Or is it time to recalibrate our division reckoning?

In other words: Are the Packers cooked?

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, coach Mike McCarthy did his best to put a positive spin on what, objectively speaking, is a personnel catastrophe. Independent of X's and O's, the psychological hammer of the long-term injuries to Finley, linebacker Nick Barnett and tailback Ryan Grant -- not to mention short-term ailments of linebacker Clay Matthews and quarterback Aaron Rodgers -- could be devastating.

"There is no 'woe is me' here," McCarthy insisted. "This is the National Football League. It's a dynamic business. ... I like where we are at as a team. I think this is an excellent opportunity for us to show what we are about. I know there is probably doubt outside the room. ... So we'll be ready to go Sunday, I can promise you that."

Already, the Packers (3-2) are in essence two games behind the division-leading Chicago Bears (4-1) by virtue of their 20-17 loss at Soldier Field last month. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Vikings provided a glimpse of what they could become during their Monday night loss to the New York Jets. Even the 1-4 Detroit Lions have new life after a 38-point shellacking of the St. Louis Rams and looming home games against all three NFC North foes.

Given that landscape, here's where I land: As tough as it's going to be on the Packers, I'm not willing to write off any team in Week 6. Instead, let's try to be more constructive and establish six maxims to guide us through this unexpected turbulence.

The Packers must make substantive changes to their offense in Finley's absence, a job made more difficult by the failure of anyone to step up after Grant's injury. Through the first four games of the season, according to ESPN Stats & Information, the Packers used a two-tight end formation on 80 of 223 plays (36 percent). With Finley and Donald Lee (chest) sidelined, the Packers won't have that luxury moving forward.

Instead, they'll have to redirect their scheme through receivers Greg Jennings and Donald Driver. Neither is having a typical season. Driver dropped four passes last Sunday against the Washington Redskins and Jennings has only 14 receptions in five games. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Finley has been by far the Packers' most reliable downfield receiver, catching 75 percent of the passes thrown to him 11 or more yards past the line of scrimmage. The rest of the Packers' receivers have caught 44 percent of similar passes.

Worse, Finley's absence will probably draw more defensive attention to Jennings. But somehow, the Packers must find a way to make him the new centerpiece of their offense.

"Obviously," Jennings told reporters, "one of the positives of having so much depth on the perimeter is that if one guy were to go down, we've got a lot of guys who can step up and make plays. At the same time, from a personal standpoint ... when he goes down, a lot more attention goes to me. We kind of help each other out a little bit. It's going to be tough."

The Packers can't play their current defensive scheme without Matthews, whose short-term status is unclear because of a strained hamstring. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Redskins completed only 30 percent of their passes against the Packers' blitz before Matthews' injury Sunday. After he left, they completed 62.5 percent against it.

Matthews' absence is expected to be relatively short term, but we all know the dangers of blitzing without an elite blitzer. Defensive coordinator Dom Capers must adjust.

In more ways than one, the Bears are in the NFC North driver seat. Their 4-1 record puts them atop the division, of course, but they've also remained relatively healthy thus far. The only Week 1 starter who isn't expected to play Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks for health reasons is left guard Roberto Garza (knee).

And through five games, the Bears' defense has been the best-performing and most consistent group on either side of the ball in the entire division. It ranks No. 6 overall in the NFL and has been good enough to carry a team to a division title. To use a cliché, the Bears' defense gives the entire team something to hang its hat on. Frankly, no other NFC North team can boast such an advantage.

Our preseason projections were made without considering the possibility that the Vikings would acquire receiver Randy Moss. With him, they have the personnel to slash and burn their way through the second half of their schedule.

In 17 minutes of game time spanning the third and fourth quarters Monday night, their offense scored 21 points and amassed 204 total yards against one of the league's best defenses. That kind of explosiveness, if harnessed on a consistent basis, could add a new factor to the division race. The big question will be whether the Vikings will bury themselves too deeply before their offense gets straightened out.

No team can reasonably plan for the loss of nine prominent players, be it for the short or long term. But the Packers' philosophy against acquiring veterans from outside the organization makes them especially ill-equipped.

General manager Ted Thompson prefers to develop his own backups and security blankets through the draft and by signing undrafted college players. It makes sense in the long term, especially when you realize that 19 of their 22 Week 1 starters were homegrown. But in the short term, it leaves inexperienced players to assume major roles.

If Rodgers must miss a game, he'll be replaced by the untested Matt Flynn rather than, say, a Shaun Hill. Without Grant, the Packers have turned to Brandon Jackson and John Kuhn instead of perhaps a Chester Taylor. Finley's injury will force the Packers to turn to rookie Andrew Quarless, who made the 53-man roster at the expense of veteran Spencer Havner.

There is no rule against young players rising to the occasion, but it's more difficult to predict it. Again, no team should be written off in the middle of October. But suffice it to say, the Packers now have their work cut out for them.

Chicago Bears: To no one's surprise, left tackle Chris Williams (hamstring) and safety Major Wright (hamstring) were ruled out of Sunday night's game against the New York Giants. Left guard Roberto Garza (knee) returned to practice and will play. Meanwhile, the Bears caught one and maybe two breaks on the Giants' report. First, defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka (bulging disk) was ruled out. Secondly, defensive end Osi Umenyiora reported a swollen knee and was listed as questionable.

Detroit Lions: Running back Jahvid Best (toe) practiced Friday and was listed as questionable for Sunday's game at the Green Bay Packers, but coach Jim Schwartz said: "I think he's on the right track." Defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch (neck) sat out practice but is probable for the game. That's the good news. The bad news: Receiver Nate Burleson (ankle) and middle linebacker DeAndre Levy (groin) are doubtful after sitting out the entire week of practice. It seems highly unlikely that either will play, meaning Bryant Johnson will start at receiver and either Landon Johnson or Spencer Havner will start at middle linebacker.

Green Bay Packers: It appears that two prominent players will miss Sunday's game. Linebacker Brandon Chillar (shoulder) has been ruled out, while nickel cornerback Sam Shields (calf) is doubtful. It's likely that Brandon Underwood will play in most nickel situations Sunday.

Some NFC North teams will continue tweaking their rosters over the next 24 hours, but for the most part, what you see is what you're going to get for Week 1 games. In that vein, let's take a look at some random but interesting (to me) trends we're seeing. Some of the observations are mine, and I've given credit to those who came up with the others:

1. Of the 53 players on the Bears' roster, only 23 of them were drafted by the team over the past seven years. Seven drafts should form the foundation of any team, but for the Bears it represents only 43 percent of the roster. (Source: Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune)
2. The Bears did bring back 2009 draft pick Juaquin Iglesias to the practice squad. The same could not be said for defensive lineman Jarron Gilbert.
3. The Green Bay Packers have more fullbacks (three) than tailbacks (two) on their roster. I can only assume that John Kuhn, Korey Hall and Quinn Johnson will participate heavily in special teams. The Packers had hoped to bring back Kregg Lumpkin on their practice squad to serve as a quasi-No. 3 runner, but Lumpkin was claimed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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Andrew Weber/US PresswireSafety Louis Delmas is the only Lions defensive back who was on the roster last season.
4. By reaching an injury settlement with Will Blackmon and releasing Jason Chery, the Packers left themselves with no obvious kick returners. If that's their biggest problem, I'm not too worried about it. But in the short term, it looks like Jordy Nelson or possibly Brandon Jackson could fill the role. *Update: Coach Mike McCarthy said Monday that Tramon Williams and Greg Jennings are options at punt returner.
5. The Detroit Lions have turned over their entire secondary with the exception of safety Louis Delmas. Every other defensive back is new to the team this year. (Source: Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.)
6. To put a bow on a couple of trades: The Minnesota Vikings received a 2011 fifth-round pick and a conditional 2012 seventh-round draft pick from the New York Giants in return for quarterback Sage Rosenfels and kick returner Darius Reynaud. Meanwhile, the Lions and Denver Broncos exchanged undisclosed draft 2011 picks to complete the Alphonso Smith-Dan Gronkowski trade.
7. In announcing their waiver claim of former Green Bay tight end/linebacker Spencer Havner, the Lions listed him as a linebacker. That makes perfect sense considering the Lions' strong depth at tight end and thin situation at linebacker.
8. The Lions currently have five players listed as cornerbacks on their roster: Smith, Chris Houston, Jonathan Wade, Aaron Berry and Amari Spievey. But Spievey has been working at safety the past few weeks, and Berry is a rookie who missed much of training camp because of a hamstring pull. Your guess is as good as mine right now about who will fill the nickel and dime roles.
9. The Vikings are in a similar situation. They have three cornerbacks on their active roster, and even if they bring someone in over the next day or so, it's hard to imagine him participating Thursday night at New Orleans. You figure Antoine Winfield, Lito Sheppard and Asher Allen will make up the nickel package. But who will the Vikings play if they need a sixth defensive back? At this point, it will have to be one of their backup safeties.

If the Green Bay Packers are planning any significant player moves before resuming practice this week, it won't be through the initial waiver process. Packers general manager Ted Thompson said Sunday during a news conference that the team did not put in a claim after NFL teams cut down their rosters to 53 Saturday.

The Packers did have a number of their cuts claimed by other teams, however, and there has been a good level of activity in and around all four NFC North teams Sunday. I'll keep a running list on this post of the most significant players involved:

• Ex-Packers running back Kregg Lumpkin was claimed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Packers had hoped to bring him back on the practice squad to be their quasi-No. 3 tailback. Last year, the Packers lost tailback Tyrell Sutton to the Carolina Panthers in the same way.
• As we discussed earlier, the Detroit Lions claimed ex-Packers tight end Spencer Havner. Of cutting Havner and keeping four other tight ends, Thompson said: "It was a very tough call, as it was with all of our guys. Spencer has played well for us. I think it is more a reflection of the play of the other four fellas that we have. We think they played very, very well and you have to get down to 53. Not an easy call at all."
• Ex-Lions defensive tackle Landon Cohen was claimed by the Jacksonville Jaguars. I think that speaks to the depth the Lions have created at the position. They were forced to make what qualified as a difficult cut.
• The Lions released receiver Dennis Northcutt, possibly to make room for Havner, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Northcutt had been earmarked as the Lions' punt returner, meaning Derrick Williams could take over that role in Week 1.
• Ex-Chicago Bears linebacker/special-teams ace Tim Shaw was claimed by the Tennessee Titans. General manager Jerry Angelo said Saturday that Shaw was released because the team thought linebacker Brian Iwuh would give it a better look at linebacker if the Bears needed him to play.
• Ex-Bears quarterback Dan LeFevour was claimed by the Cincinnati Bengals. LeFevour didn't show much this summer to indicate he will develop into a starting-caliber quarterback, but the Bengals proved how difficult it is to move any young quarterback through waivers.
• As we discussed Saturday, Minnesota Vikings fans need to cut back on the T.J. Houshmandzadeh hysteria. Coach Brad Childress said Sunday that he's not interested in adding Houshmandzadeh "right now." If anything, Childress said he would like to add a younger receiver. For now, however, two of his receivers are likely to be his primary returners -- Percy Harvin on kickoffs and Bernard Berrian or Greg Camarillo on punt returns.
• *Update: The Lions released linebacker Rocky Boiman to make room for kick returner Stefan Logan, whom they claimed earlier in the day. That must mean they're awfully confident that middle linebacker DeAndre Levy (groin) will be ready for the Sept. 12 opener against the Chicago Bears.

I'm not going to provide a blow-by-blow of every roster move Sunday, but here is one that was particularly intriguing.

According to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post, the Detroit Lions claimed former Green Bay Packers tight end/linebacker Spencer Havner on waivers. It's always intriguing to see a player move within the division, especially one like Havner, who had to be one of the Packers' most difficult cuts.

Havner is a unique skilled player, having carved out a niche as a red-zone receiver as well as one who wouldn't embarrass you as an emergency linebacker. Given the deep nature of the Lions' tight end group, and their thin depth at linebacker, you wonder if Havner won't be focused on the latter opportunity.

I'll continue to monitor Sunday moves and provide a wrap-up post at the end of the day. If you want more immediate information, now is a good time to start following the blog on Twitter.

We're Black and Blue All Over:

An unusual dynamic will begin playing out Sunday here in the NFC North. While the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers continue a weekend pause to fortify and finalize their rosters, the Minnesota Vikings will start their practice week in anticipation of Thursday night's season opener in New Orleans.

Sunday's schedule will roughly mirror a typical NFL Wednesday, including a full practice and slate of media interviews. I'll be at the Vikings' facility, where quarterback Brett Favre is among those expected to talk. I'll also keep track of significant roster moves after the noon ET expiration for waiver claims.

In the meantime, let's take a Sunday morning spin around the division.

• Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler on if he is involved in a "bromance" with offensive coordinator Mike Martz: "You know, it's an interesting take." Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune explores their budding relationship.
• Bears running back Garrett Wolfe on making the team: "At this point in my life, I've accomplished more than anybody ever gave me credit for." Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times has more.
• The Bears tried to trade special teams ace Tim Shaw before releasing him, according to Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com.
• The Detroit Lions should be busy adding, and possibly subtracting, cornerbacks and linebackers on Sunday, according to Tom Kowalski of Mlive.com.
• Lions defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch: "Potentially, we can be one of the best, if not the best, defensive line" in the league. We have talent, we have depth, we have the right people, we just have to put it together." Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press has more.
• Kudos to Lions linebacker Zack Follett for this quote in Terry Foster's column in the Detroit News: "Man, I do get a lot of publicity for someone with just 10 career tackles."
• The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Green Bay Packers' decision to keep tight end Donald Lee: "In the end, the decision to keep Lee over touchdown-producing tight end Spencer Havner came down to the Packers acknowledging they can't go into the season with a budding third-year superstar, a young blocking specialist and a talented rookie with previous off-the-field issues without having someone like the venerable Lee around."
• Mike Vandermause of the Green Bay Press-Gazette: "The Green Bay Packers talk a good game when it comes to stressing the importance of special teams. But some of their actions Saturday to reduce their roster to 53 players didn't back up that claim."
• Packers safety/returner Will Blackmon on leaving with an injury settlement: "I'm at peace. I totally understand why. I'm going to do my part, then make it happen." Jason Wilde of ESPNMilwaukee.com has more.
• The Vikings are putting everything toward winning the Super Bowl this season, writes Judd Zulgad of the Star Tribune. The team could look much different after 2010.
• Tom Powers of the St. Paul Pioneer Press believes the Vikings should put quarterback Tarvaris Jackson out of his misery.
• Tom Pelissero of 1500ESPN.com breaks down the Vikings' 53-man roster.