NFC North Roundup: Let The Training Camps Begin!

The time of year where NFL executives hold their breathes and pray that the next offseason headline doesn’t involve one of their players is almost over. The news of suspensions and accusations and allegations and social media revelations will soon give way to some actual between-the-hashes updates. For that reason, it is time to reboot our weekly glance at the nemeses (yes, that’s the plural version of “nemesis,” I looked it up!) of the Minnesota Vikings: The NFC North competition.

NFC NORTH COMPETITION: Chicago Bears

The biggest news out of Chicago this week involved an utility pole getting blown to bits during an epic lightning storm (hence the video above) and I’m leading with that for no other reason than that I was there for the storm, my tidbit on the Bears is much less exciting than the two listed below it, and the video is pretty freaking cool.

Former Bears defensive end Corey Wootton has decided to retire after six NFL seasons which ended in the preseason last preseason when he suffered a torn pectoral and ended up on Detroit’s injured reserve. Wootton, as you will likely recall, played for the 2013 season with the Vikings.

He is perhaps best known for delivering the tackle that would end Brett Favre’s consecutive starts streak and cause the soon-to-be Hall of Fame quarterback to never take another snap. Wootton was a rookie out of Northwestern when he made that hit on Favre, continuing to grease the rails of what was already a train wreck of a season for the 2010 Minnesota Vikings.

“I am officially retiring from the NFL,” Wootton stated publicly this week. “I want to thank the Chicago Bears organization for drafting me and allowing my NFL career to become a reality. I was able to live out my childhood dream. Throughout my time in the NFL I was fortunate to work with some great coaches and players. My main focus in life now is putting my family first, and spending as much time with them as I can.”

NFC NORTH COMPETITION: Detroit Lions

Calvin Johnson may never be fully replaced in Detroit, as he was that great, but that doesn’t mean the Lions don’t have to at least try. They made a rare name-value signing this week (rare for July, that is) when they acquired 35 year old Anquan Boldin and added him to a cast already containing Golden Tate, Marvin Jones, Jeremy Kerley, Andre Roberts and Andre Caldwell.

At this point, Boldin wouldn’t be considered a lock to make any NFL roster, but the Lions present him a solid chance at cracking an opening day roster. Boldin certainly isn’t the player he once was, but he is still one of the most mentally and physically tough of any receivers I’ve been alive long enough to watch play, and his previous experiences with Jim Caldwell in Baltimore cannot hurt his odds.

“Caldwell’s probably one of the better coaches that I’ve played for,” Boldin said back in February. “I love the way he goes about his business. He’s just a great guy and … probably every player in this league would like to play for Caldwell.”

Boldin has also been candid about the fact that no individual will be able to fill Megatron’s shoes alone and that it’ll take the entire depth chart of receivers to get Detroit’s passing game up to that same level. Boldin notched 69 catches for 789 yards last season.

NFC NORTH COMPETITION: Green Bay Packers

Tuesday featured news that star receiver Jordy Nelson had a “hiccup” in his quest to rehabilitate himself back onto the field after an injury to his right ACL ended his 2015 season. While Nelson downplayed his new injury, saying it has nothing to do with his right leg at all, he is starting Packers training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“The knee that I had surgery on feels great,” Nelson said. “Through training this summer, I had an incident with the other knee. Nothing serious. Something minor. A little hiccup in it. Our end goal is to be ready for the regular season. There’s just a little bit of a hiccup with the other leg. We’re not worried about it.”

Nelson may not be worried about it, but I’m betting that hoards of Packers faithful are frantically searching the internet trying to cure a case of knee hiccups. How do you scare the hell out of a knee? Is it possible for a knee to drink a glass of water upside down? Can a knee hold its breath for three minutes?

Head Coach Mike McCarthy said he expects Nelson to be ready to go for the season opener. The return of Nelson, of course, is a huge reason that Green Bay fans seem so confident that they’ll be able to reclaim the throne atop the NFC North.

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