Bears rookie OT Gabe Carimi took a break from his visit to NFL Network on Friday to discuss how he’s filling his offseason, which nickname he likes best and his favorite food.

Part of what makes the Ravens-Steelers rivalry one of the best in football — other than the games, of course — is the amount of talk that goes on between players, mostly through the media. And with no football to talk about, we’ll take whatever material we can get.

With the locked-out NFL offseason leaving many players in various states of limbo, we haven’t heard a lot from Donovan McNabb in recent weeks. That changed Tuesday, in a rather odd way.

Our latest offseason visitor to NFL Network was Roddy White, who took a few minutes to discuss the NFL’s best receivers, Tom Brady, and what the Falcons need to do to improve.

Veteran free agent Darren Sharper shouldn’t be considered a casualty of the locked-out offseason. In fact, he’s among a minority of players the NFL lockout is helping rather than hurting.

When Tiki Barber announced his comeback this offseason, it was met with a tepid reaction among many NFL observers. For good reason: Barber, now 36, hasn’t played in four seasons at a position where comebacks aren’t exactly the norm.

Bucs veteran Ronde Barber took some time out during a visit to the NFL Network studios to discuss when it’s really time to retire, why Peyton Manning is the best player in the NFL and ranking am0ng the all-time greats.

Jets QB Mark Sanchez didn’t feel the need to openly campaign for Randy Moss the way others have done for Nnamdi Asomugha or Plaxico Burress, but thinks the verteran receiver has plenty left to help a team.

Mark Sanchez, a close friend of the NFL Network, took a few minutes during his visit Wednesday to answer some pertinent offseason questions about the Jets, his personal life and life with Rex Ryan.

Dolphins LB Cameron Wake dropped by the NFL Network studios Monday and took a few minutes to share who he believes is the NFL’s best player, his take on criticism of QB Chad Henne and why he doesn’t engage in trash talk with Jets coach Rex Ryan.

Plaxico Burress returning to the Giants is believed to be possible, but one person with some insight — starting LT David Diehl — doesn’t see the receiver coming back. However, it’s not for the reasons you might expect.

Christian Ponder says he wasn’t surprised the Vikings made him the 12th overall pick in last month’s draft. That would put him in the clear minority, because it was a move the surprised nearly everyone else.

From the moment Cam Newton was drafted first overall by the Panthers last month, the conversation surrounding the quarterback has been if he should start from Day 1.

It might surprise some that one of the Saints who wants Reggie Bush to remain with the team is the player whose presence makes him expendable — first-round draft pick Mark Ingram.

Mercifully, it appears official. The “what number will Cam Newton wear?” mini-controversy is over.