Talks between the Bears and Matt Forte have escalated to the point where the team has extended a contract offer worth in the neighborhood of up to $15M guaranteed, sources indicated to ESPNChicago.com. Given recent statements by GM Jerry Angelo, and the fact the regular season is less than two weeks away, it appears negotiations are likely coming to a close whether or not Forte agrees to the deal, in which the total value and length weren't disclosed.

Rex Ryan and the Jets visited the World Trade Center site and met surprised construction workers there a little less than two weeks before the 10-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Several team members viewed the site for about a half-hour Wednesday after attending the Jets' annual kickoff luncheon at Cipriani's Wall Street.

Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor had a higher Wonderlic score than the seven that was reported earlier Wednesday, according to Steelers GM Kevin Colbert, who administered the tests. According to Colbert, Pryor took two tests on back-to-back days in preparation for the supplemental draft. League sources told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday that Pryor answered 48 out of 50 questions on his first test, but only seven of his answers were correct.

Chris Johnson seems to be finding out about the downside of Twitter during his contract holdout. Johnson tweeted Wednesday that "fake Titan fans" should shut up. Fans are calling him greedy and saying his contract demands are too high.

Defensive end Alex Brown said Wednesday that he's heard from three teams since being released from the Saints on Tuesday, and he said one of those teams is the team that drafted him, the Bears, according to an ESPN.com report.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees said his agent and the team have been talking about a contract extension, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They've been in discussions," Brees said of talks between the Saints and his agent, Tom Condon, according to the report. "That's been ongoing."

A few weeks ago, coach Rex Ryan disagreed with a comment by Mark Sanchez, who had compared the Jets' defense to the '85 Bears. Not even the ultra-confident Ryan would go that far. But he believes his defensive unit can be pretty special. "Will we end up being the best defense in football? I think so," the Jets' coach said Tuesday. "I challenge everybody: Put your negative comments out there and we'll see what happens in the end, because I think our defense is going to be outstanding. "I wouldn't trade this defense for anybody's in the league."

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers had the top selling jersey in the NFL from April 1 to July 31, according to the league. Green Bay linebacker Clay Matthews and Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu followed Rodgers in the top three. Tim Tebow, who had the highest-selling jersey prior to the 2010 season, was ranked eighth.

Saints defensive end Alex Brown tweeted Tuesday saying he has been released. He had worked with the first team during training camp and the preseason. Brown, who started all 16 games for the Saints last season, wrote the following post: "It saddens me to say that I have been released from the Saints because their a first class organization and I will miss it. Good luck to the guys and Who Dat Nation keep roaring... My family and I had a blast here.. Thanks."

Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin says he'll be ready for Week 1 of the season. Maclin hadn't practiced until Sunday due to a cancer scare, but he will start the team's Week 1 game against the Rams. "I feel all right conditioning-wise," Maclin said. "It's just getting back out there and running routes, I haven't done that in a while, so there's definitely some work I need to do, but I think I'll get back to my normal self pretty soon."