The Minnesota Vikings drafted a pair of linebackers on Day 3 of the 2013 NFL Draft, but they might not be done bolstering the middle of their defense.
Judd Zulgad and Tom Pelissero of ESPNTwinCities.com reported Saturday that the Vikings might revisit adding longtime former Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher to the mix.
There's still a question mark in the middle of the Vikings' 4-3 defense after Jasper Brinkley left for the Arizona Cardinals. Adding a pair of Penn State linebackers in Gerald Hodges (at No. 120 overall) and Michael Mauti (at No. 213) helps, but only Mauti -- coming off his third torn anterior cruciate ligament in four years -- projects as a middle 'backer. The Vikings currently have unproven Tyrone McKenzie penciled in at the position.
NFL.com's Albert Breer reported last month that Urlacher, 34, wanted a one-year contract worth between $3.5 million and $4 million to return to the Bears. Instead, the Bears sent him packing. He would bring a veteran presence to the Vikings, but Pelissero reported in March that the Vikings had no plans to sign Urlacher -- unless his price tag "comes way, way down."
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"We're going to, like I said, sit and assess what we have," Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said after the draft. "Everybody was a little bit tired, so I wasn't going to sit there and have a personnel meeting with the coaches tonight. We'll get to that on Monday and kind of see where we're at. We signed a couple linebackers and another linebacker in free agency, college free agency, so we'll see where we're at and then go from there."
The Vikings have time to measure what they have at the position in-house. Meanwhile, Urlacher's price tag is bound to come down, if he actually wants to play again this season. We'll keep an eye on this one.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
