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It's not "goodbye" so much as it is "the more things change the more they stay the same."
Today is my last official day as Lead Writer for the NFC North.
Some of you just popped champagne. Some of you are probably shocked and disappointed. Some of you aren't exactly sure who I am.
But all of you who read—even one article—are why today is a bit sad.
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Chris Chambers/Getty Images
One pick down, one to go in the Vikings' "fan crowd-sourcing draft."
You folks have spoken, and so at No. 23, the Vikings would select a wide receiver—37 percent of you chose another weapon for Christian Ponder.
I'd say there are several players to take with that pick—Tavon Austin makes a ton of sense, as does Keenan Allen if you aren't too worried about his injury history. I've seen Robert Woods' name around a lot lately.
The next closest positions in the voting were cornerback (26 percent) and middle/inside linebacker (25 percent). I'm very interested to see where the votes from the wide receiver folks go in this next poll, particularly if they beef up the defensive tackle column—which I was surprised to see get just a measly 9.5 percent.
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The NFLPA has released their rankings of all the NFL teams and their remaining cap room for 2013.
Surprise, surprise—the Green Bay Packers have more money left over than any other NFC North team, as well as the majority of NFL teams overall.
The NFLPA report puts them at just under $18 million.
The Packers have always been frugal in free agency, much to the consternation of their fans, though this year I have felt as though they've been saving for a reason.
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Andy King/Getty Images
The Vikings may have stunned everyone with their play in 2012, but that won't happen again this year.
A year ago people were talking rebuild and now, fans are hoping for another appearance in the postseason come next January.
Despite the success, though, the Vikings still have work to do so they can build on it.
Trading Percy Harvin gained them an extra first-round pick, which gives them flexibility in what they can do.
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Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Free agency is done, and the Chicago Bears have left themselves in an excellent position to take whatever falls to them.
They still have issues in several areas, including at least one they addressed in free agency.
You guys always have to listen to every draftnick, analysts and dude with a microphone spout off on who your favorite team should draft.
Now it's your turn.
I'll lay out the case for the three positions I feel are most likely going to be the team's targets and then you guys get to vote on which you feel is most likely.
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Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Free agency is behind us, which isn't really all that different for Packers fans than any other time of the year.
The Packers, as is also very common for them, are once again picking deep in the first round at No. 26.
For a team which has been a recent Super Bowl Champion and a yearly participant in the playoffs for some time now, this is actually a team that has multiple needs which could be addressed in the first round.
Since nobody knows what Ted Thompson will do (not even what he'll eat for lunch today), I thought a little crowd sourcing was in order.
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Leon Halip/Getty Images
The NFL Draft is less than a month away, the bulk of free agency is done and we can now start to hone in on who each team will be looking for at what pick.
I've seen some pretty big splits between various Lions fans about what to do with the fifth pick, so in order to settle this once and for all (without blood) we are going to vote on this.
There will either be a win for "Team Left Tackle" or "Team Edge Rusher" but someone here will leave unhappy—or less satisfied because let's face it, either way to go is a reasonable one.
I'll state my case for both positions and then you guys can vote, then tell each other how wrong the other side is in the comments.
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Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Since the Chicago Bears have a new head coach, they'll get a bit of a head start on their offseason workouts, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
According to the new CBA, a team that has hired a new coach gets a two-week head start on everyone else.
This will be the first time in nine years that the team has begun practicing without Lovie Smith, but more changes will be on the horizon.
New head coach Marc Trestman has been brought in to fix the offense and, hopefully, get Jay Cutler to fulfill the full promise of his abilities.
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Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Dwight Freeney says he is interested in playing for the Detroit Lions, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
The Lions should politely say, "Thanks, but no thanks."
Freeney's best years are very clearly behind him. Yes, he could have topped eight sacks again had he been healthy all 16 games in 2012 and the Lions do lack just about any outside pass-rushing presence.
However, the fact is Freeney wants one last big payday and the Lions should absolutely not bite.
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The Chicago Bears have signed former New York Jets guard Matt Slauson to a one-year deal, according to ESPNChicago.com's Michael C. Wright.
After losing Lance Louis to the Miami Dolphins, the Bears were definitely in need of a guard.
So they went and got the lightweight version of Louis in Slauson.
I've never been a huge fan of Slauson's. He was adequate as the Jets' left guard for the last three years and never really more. 2012 was probably his best season, doing a much better job of protecting quarterback Mark Sanchez.
