The Facts: Following up on the ongoing story. ...While no deal is imminent and there remains plenty of work to do, there has been some progress in the contract talks in recent weeks between Rice's agent, Todd France, and the Ravens, according to sources familiar with the talks.

Diehards Line:Rice, who led the NFL in yards from scrimmage last season and is currently scheduled to earn $7.742 million in base salary under the franchise tag, has not yet signed his franchise tender and is not expected to be present for the start of the team's OTAs on Tuesday. Still, the report of progress in contract talks comes as no real surprise. The Ravens have until the afternoon of July 16 to sign Rice to an extension. The hope remains that the two sides will come to an agreement with time to spare, perhaps even before the mandatory veteran minicamp from June 12-14, or if not, shortly thereafter. According to Sun staffer Jeff Zrebiec, the two sides got a possible template for Rice's deal when Eagles RB LeSean McCoy agreed to a five-year, $45 million extension last week that includes nearly $21 million in guaranteed money. McCoy is two years younger than Rice and was one season away from free agency, so there are some differences. But there are plenty of parallels to be drawn as well, both with McCoy's new deal and the pact signed by Houston's Arian Foster earlier this offseason. ... Stay tuned.