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The end of Charles Woodson's career as a Packer is upon us, as the longtime Green Bay defensive back was released by the team Friday afternoon, according to Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel.

Woodson remains happy with his time in Green Bay and knows getting released is all part of being in the NFL.

While it may not be what Packers fans wish to hear, ultimately, his absence won't cause a huge ripple for the team going into 2013.

When I first heard (per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk) that the Packers were preparing to release Woodson, I was a bit surprised.

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Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Most of the time, it seems nobody in the NFL listens to that old chestnut, but the Chicago Bears' new defensive coordinator, Mel Tucker, just might be.

The Tribune's Dan Pompei says Tucker is fine with the status quo and isn't looking to change things and impose his will when it all worked really well for most of last year.

That's not to say he won't tweak things or add changes and wrinkles—just that he won't blow everything up because "hey, it's my defense now."

If you were a Bears fan worried about the long-time dominant defense was going to get changed, that players like Lance Briggs, Julius Peppers and Charles Tillman were going to be hammered into a new shape because, well it's new—worry no more.

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The Lions have a lot of team needs—defensive ends, linebackers and yes even receivers—but one of the biggest issues they face is a lack of talent at cornerback.

At this time, we don't know if they will be able to entice free agent Chris Houston back to Detroit, and beyond him are a lot of question marks anyway. I still like Dwight Bentley even coming off an injury, but nobody else really excites me there and even liking Bentley, I have to concede he's not enough.

So while the first pick can go many ways (I actually assume defensive end or linebacker) they cannot wait for the third round this year—and I wouldn't be opposed to a surprise cornerback pick at No. 5.

As long as some of you are screaming with outrage, let's start there.

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Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Wednesday afternoon, the Vikings chose to exercise their option on head coach Leslie Frazier's contract.

It was a wise move and was well deserved.

I'm aware that there are a significant number of Vikings fans who are not Frazier's biggest fans (or fans at all). With that said, you cannot deny what was achieved last season, nor can you really say that it wasn't deserving of a chance to finish things out.

First of all, it's not a huge extension like the one the Detroit Lions gave to their head coach—it's two years (ends after 2014).

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Chris Chambers/Getty Images

The Green Bay Packers once again find themselves at the back end of the NFL Draft, this time ensconced at pick No. 26.

There are a ton of worthwhile players to be had at the spot, and the Packers have enough needs that they could go virtually any direction.

However, there are five positions which should take greatest precedence over any other. In this piece, I will give you one player per position who should be looked at—and could be available—at the Packers' position.

I'll also tell you how likely it is that they take a player at this position while we're at it—though keep in mind, at the end of the first, things stay very fluid because so much of your pick is adjusted by the people ahead of you.

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We all know what an incredible season Calvin Johnson had in 2013, even as the team struggled.

ESPN's NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert cast some light onto how Johnson's year might have been even more incredible than we imagined.

According to Seifert and ESPN's Stats and Information database, the Lions saw six more defenses stack six or less players in the box against the run than any other team.

Hand in hand with that, they faced eight or more men in the box less than any other team in the league.

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Chris Chambers/Getty Images

So it appears the Vikings might be looking to move Percy Harvin this offseason—but even if they don't this is still a woeful group of wide receivers who they need to improve upon.

They can do so via free agency of course (we talked about possibly adding Greg Jennings last week) but they will still need to add talent.

Now the interesting side note in all this was a Twitter discussion I saw Tuesday morning. Kevin from Minnesota Vikings Fan Page was saying he felt as though the wide receiver class, while not incredibly top heavy, was pretty deep.

That rather than grab a receiver in the late first round (they pick at 23), the team can wait until the second—or possibly even third—day of the draft and still get an impact receiver.

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Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

As we head into the offseason, we once again begin looking at the Green Bay Packers backfield.

While I am a big fan of DuJuan Harris, adding another talented back wouldn't be a bad idea, and recently the concept that Steven Jackson could be that guy has taken hold over at ESPN.

Both Kevin Seifert, the NFC North blogger at ESPN, and John Clayton feel as though Jackson would be a good fit for the Packers offense.

I happen to agree—if the price is right.

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Word came on Tuesday that wide receiver Johnny Knox has been released from the Bears.

This is an especially tough cut from a fan and personal standpoint. After suffering a severe back injury against the Seattle Seahawks in late 2011, Knox had been slowly but surely working to return to the team.

The problem was perhaps that he was coming along too slow. In a Sun-Times piece from this past December, Knox admitted he "wasn't quite there physically," and given that we were a year removed from his initial injury, that had to worry the team.

In fact, some beat writers like Michael Wright of ESPNChicago.com are unsure he will ever play again.

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Leon Halip/Getty Images

With the end of Brian Urlacher's career looming on the horizon, the 2013 NFL draft has to be a time for the Chicago Bears to look for options to replace him at middle linebacker.

This is a pretty strong inside linebacker class, with some definite "A-list" players at the top and some good players in the middle and later rounds as well.

We'll take a look at a few from "column A" and a few from "column B" for this early look at some players who could be the next Urlacher.

Keep in mind we're early in the process and this can change at any time, especially with the combine just a week or so away.