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• Mark Sanchez could be traded if Geno Smith wins job

• Wheel Routes: Dan Snyder knows the value of a name

Jon Beason injury: Panthers LB expected to miss minicamp

2013-05-14T15:02:59Z

Carolina Panthers linebacker Jon Beason has missed all but five games in the last two season and had three surgeries in a 17-month period, but the veteran has every intention to return to the field for the Panthers sooner rather than later, although that won't be during minicamp, according to Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer.

More: Cat Scratch Reader

Beason, 28, made three consecutive Pro Bowls at middle linebacker before his two injury-riddled seasons. Now, he's expected to return to the Panthers as an outside linebacker after suffering shoulder and knee injuries that sent him to injured reserve in October. Taking his place in the middle in 2012 was first-round draft pick Luke Kuechly, who went on the become the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year.

A first-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, Beason played and started in all 64 games the Panthers played during the first four years of his career. After two seasons of injuries, Beason told Person that he's excited to get back to doing what he loves to do.

"For me, it can't get here any faster. Obviously, I want to take advantage of the time that I have to get stronger and to heal up even more," Beason said. "But I'm just so anxious to get back to doing what I love. I love to play the game of football. There's nothing else I'd rather do."

While he isn't expected to participate in minicamp next month, Beason did go through the walkthrough at the Panthers OTAs on Monday and should be ready for training camp.

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• Mark Sanchez could be traded if Geno Smith wins job

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Michael Vick, Nick Foles split 1st team reps at Eagles minicamp

2013-05-14T14:31:30Z

The NFL season is still four months away and Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly isn't ready to name a starter for the team. He isn't willing to give any hints at practice either, as Michael Vick and Nick Foles evenly split the first-team reps at Monday's practice, according to Zach Berman of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

More: Chip Kelly wraps up first day of Eagles OTAs Bleeding Green Nation

Kelly downplayed the notion of the team identifying a starter this early in the offseason and did the same for the battle at right tackle between Lane Johnson and Dennis Kelly. Still, Kelly is fostering the idea of a competition between Vick, Foles, Matt Barkley and Dennis Dixon for the starting role.

Vick, Foles and Barkley have all expressed their intentions to win the starting job. This is to be expected, and Kelly said that anyone who says he's with the team to compete for a backup job will quickly be sent down I-95. Even Dixon, who probably will need to beat out one of the other three to the make the roster, was mentioned by Vick and Foles when the competition was discussed.

Vick, 32, has been the primary starter for the Eagles in each of the last three seasons, but has struggled to stay healthy. After going out with an injury in 2012, Foles stepped in as rookie and finished the year with a slightly better passer rating than the veteran.

The Eagles also have two new faces, as Barkley was added with the first pick of the fourth round after Philadelphia traded up to acquire the former-USC Trojans passer, and Dixon was added in February, reuniting the former-Oregon Ducks quarterback with Kelly, his former offensive coordinator.

More from SB Nation:

• Mark Sanchez could be traded if Geno Smith wins job

• Wheel Routes: Dan Snyder knows the value of a name

Minnesota Vikings reveal new stadium design

2013-05-14T13:52:07Z

The first images of a design for a new stadium to house the Minnesota Vikings were revealed at an event on Monday night in front of fans, public officials and Vikings team officials. The Vikings are set to vacate the Metrodome following the 2013 season and play two years at the University of Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium before the new stadium's scheduled open in 2016.

More: New Minnesota Vikings stadium: Stunning, innovative, and sufficient bathrooms

On Monday night, Ted Glover of SB Nation's Daily Norseman offered some analysis on the new design from a Vikings fan-perspective:

This is about as cutting edge as one could imagine, but I really, really like it. The innovation with the largest pivoting glass doors in the world, to the largest clear ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) roof in the world and the first on a stadium in the nation, to the bowl that is level with the street as you walk in, to the modern lines and glass ceiling just combines well and works.

As mentioned by Glover, the stadium will look to be as much functional and practical as it is sharp-looking. Rather than using a retractable roof, the stadium will use ETFE to provide natural sunlight to the field and collect solar power that will make the Vikings more energy efficient.

The stadium is also designed with angled roof to make more for an easier clearance of snow after a storm in 2010 caused a collapse of the roof at the Metrodome and forced the Vikings to play their final two home games of the season elsewhere.

Visit the official website of the Vikings for a virtual tour of the stadium and a slideshow of the images revealed on Monday night.

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