The Brian Urlacher-to-the-Vikings rumor reading has moved from tepid to cool today after Vikings coach Leslie Frazier shot down Tuesday's report by a Chicago Sun-Times gossip columnist that Urlacher was leaning toward signing with the team.

Frazier said today on NFL AM that the Vikings would continue to plan on using players already on their team at the middle linebacking spot.

Said Frazier: "Brian has been a great player in our league for a long, long time. He was a thorn in our side for many years. At this point we want to look at the guys on our roster, give them a chance to compete for the middle linebacker position then we'll see where it takes us."

Erin Henderson continues to be the leading candidate to move from the outside to the middle for the Vikings.

Tuesday's report, along with the Vikings' rookie signings, can be found here.

Here's the transcript, courtesy of nfl.com, of Frazier's chat:

On if running back Adrian Peterson has wanted to work out too hard this offseason:

“It kind of happened not by his choice. He had the abdominal strain late in the season and that has kind of slowed him this offseason as far as being able to kick things into overdrive and doing things the way he wants to do it. It has slowed him down a little bit, but he just about back to 100% doing everything he needs to be able to do to be in the best possible shape for this season.”

On if the offseason moves were geared towards easing the workload of running back Adrian Peterson:

“We would like to be more balanced. We obviously pride ourselves on being able to run the football and being able to stop the run on defense but we think in order to take that next step, as a team and as an offense, we need to be able to create that balance by being able to pass the ball a little bit better. We think with the acquisition of Greg, along with what we did in the draft, and some of the other guys coming back – a healthy Jerome Simpson, our tight end Kyle Rudolph – we think we are going to be a better team throwing the football, which should, hopefully, open up more holes for Adrian Peterson.”

On quarterback Christian Ponder:

“This will be his third season, his second season as a full time starter. We are expecting him to take another step forward. We saw glimpses in the month in December – when we went 4-0 – of what he can be. We are really excited about some of the things we saw down the stretch of the season and we are looking for him to carry that over to our next season.”

On if the Vikings are interested in linebacker Brian Urlacher

“Brian has been a great player in our league for a long, long time. He has been a torn in our side for many years. At this point, we want to take a look at the guys on our roster, give them a chance to compete for the middle linebacker position and then we will see where it takes us.”

On new Vikings wide receiver Greg Jennings:

“His experience jumps out at you for sure. Knowing where we are, at the receiver position, having a guy of his caliber – a Pro Bowl player, a great player in our league for a number of years now – his leadership, his experience, his big play ability, it’s still there. He was been banged up a bit the last couple of years but he is healthy now. We are looking forward to him having a great season in Minnesota.”

On the three first round draft picks: defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd, cornerback Xavier Rhodes, and wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson:
“I like our guys. They are going to be good players for our football team. We are hoping they are going to have an impact this first season.”

On if the expects the first round picks to be week 1 starters:

“There is enough competition on our team where they don’t have to come in and start right away. But if that were to happen, it would be a good thing for our team. Each one will have a chance to start.”

On if defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd is upset with how far he fell in the draft:

“He pretty excited about being a Minnesota Viking. Once you get to know Sharrif, you realize he is a very humble guy who kind of gets it for a young guy. He is not caught up on where he was taken. He is happy to be a Viking.”
 

The Vikings signed three draft picks -- linebackers Gerald Hodges and Michael Mauti, and defensive tackle Everett Dawkins -- today.

Hodges was a fourth-round selection (120th overall), while Mauti (213th) and Dawkins (229th) were seventh rounders. Hodges and Mauti are from Penn State, while Dawkins played at Florida State.

The signings were announced by the team. Hodges posted his signing on Twitter. He called it the happiest moment of his life.

A video review of the Vikings picks, if you have a little time to watch, is here. Sid also broke down the Penn State linebackers here. (Just wanted to use "Sid broke down" in the context of Sid breaking down film.  Not sure that line worked.)

Other Vikings notes:

• Chuck Muncie, who played briefly for the Vikings at the end of a career plagued by substance abuse, has died at age 60. News reports say Muncie, a star with San Diego, had a heart attack.
• And former Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher and the Vikings have been mentioned in the same sentence by a Chicago Sun Times "gossip" columnist.

Michael Sneed, who apparently is quite comfortable referring to herself in the third person, wrote: Sneed hears that former Chicago Bear Brian Urlacher, whose stellar, longtime career with the Bears began with a growl and ended with a whimper, is getting close to finding a new pigskin playground. Sneed is told that Urlacher, whose decision to leave the Bears followed their offer of a $1.6 million renewal contract, has been talking to the Minnesota Vikings and the Denver Broncos. “It’s getting close to happening, but Brian is leaning toward heading to Minnesota and is talking a one to two year contract,” said a source close to Urlacher.

As they used to say on Hee Haw, we don't like to repeat rumors ... so you better listen closely the first time.

Need a mid-week, mid-May fix of Vikings analysis? We're here for you.

This morning, the crew from the NFL Network's "NFL AM" show provided an early wake-up call to the Access Vikings Think Tank to look ahead at several key components of the 2013 season.

And after discussing the draft-weekend break that brought defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd to the Twin Cities plus the learning curve that rookie receiver Cordarrelle Patterson will face, our discussion turned to Adrian Peterson and Christian Ponder.

Yes, earlier this week in a piece by Albert Breer on NFL.com, Rick Spielman was quoted as saying that he gives Ponder "just as much credit for getting us into the playoffs as Adrian." And yes, that's a ludicrous off-the-cuff remark that no one will take at face value. (We can assure you that not even Spielman can truly believe the words in that quote. So please stop hyperventilating about what that means.)

But if you want to know about Peterson's pursuit of 2,500 yards in 2013 -- and that's the running back's stated goal -- make sure to watch this video to understand why the Vikings want the bar set much lower than that for Peterson this fall.

As for Ponder? The Vikings will raise the bar for him in his third season as a starter. And we discuss that too within our "NFL AM" back and forth. Have at it. Enjoy. Discuss.